Metal Gear Solid: Elements of Destruction
by FrozenBlueIce
Summary: One year after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2, Otacon digs up some new intelligence on the kidnapping of two Russian Army scientists, and word of a secret weapon project that the Russian Nationalist Force is forcing them to cooperate in. (Complete)
1. Chapter 1: Mission

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 1:  Mission

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 1:  Mission

            "Finally," Otacon shouted as he jumped up from his chair.  His limbs, tired and sore from hours and hours of sitting, felt numb as he stretched them out for the first time.  

Solid Snake, who had been cleaning his Socom, looked up from what he was doing, and peered across the room at his friend.  Not being a man of many words, he silently waited for Otacon to explain his excitement.

Hal turned around, a look of relief on his face.  Yet something else, maybe disbelief, burned in his eyes.   "Snake!  Come take a look at this!" he said.

Dave coolly stood up and walked over to the computer, not a hint of urgency in his stride.  Leaning over, he looked at the computer screen.  Otacon glanced over his shoulder as if needing to read the information a second time.  The usually calm, emotionless, Solid Snake widened his eyes, then furrowed his brow, pondering the information he had just read.

"Are you sure this is accurate?" he asked, pointing at the screen.

The scientist nodded, pushing his glasses back up with his index finger.  "Mmhm," he affirmed.  "Come on, you know I never get things like this wrong," Otacon said, a bit of injury in his voice, "You should know me better than that."

"I know," Snake said, "It's just, well… Antarctica, Hal?"  Snake was puzzled.  "Why Antarctica?"

Otacon sat back down at the computer and began clicking away at the keyboard.  Snake watched closely as various encrypted documents were cracked, then translated in a matter of minutes.

"It took me weeks just to find traces of anything suspicious.  Then weeks more just to find my way through the first 100 levels of encryption."

Otacon drew in a breath, then let it out forcefully.  Weeks and weeks of work, nights upon sleepless nights had taken their toll on him.  But that was what things were like as the main information officer of "Philanthropy".  Now that the computer aspect was done, it was going to be Snake's turn for sleepless nights handling the physically exerting aspects of the job.  "This," Otacon mused, "is really going to push his limits."

Philanthropy had been watching closely over Russia since it was there that had the greatest militaristic unrest of late.  Russian nationalist figures like Sergei Gurlukovich and Revolver Ocelot had recently given them a lot of work to do.  Thankfully, those players were taken out of the picture.  But who knew how many more dangerous figures, potentially thousands of times more dangerous than the previous two, were marching around in some secret base with Russian world domination on their minds, and copies of Metal Gears in their arsenals?

"These are some that documents I found," Otacon said, pointing to several file names in his archives.  "Do you remember hearing, about three months ago, about the disappearance of two Russian Army Scientists?"

Snake nodded, "Yeah.  They were supposed to be the greatest military minds of our time."  Snake paused for a moment, remembering something that Hal had told him earlier.  He raised his eyebrow in query, "I thought you said that you found U.S. military documents claiming knowledge of their whereabouts, and that they had simply come to the U.S. for sanctuary?"

"A slight smirk crossed Otacon's lips, "I did.  But that's what they want the world to think right now."  Hal scratched the back of his head, "You see, I really got to thinking.  Wouldn't the world be in a panic if they thought that the two most intelligent military scientists were being held by some militaristic group, making weapons for them to wage war with?"

"What are you saying?" Snake pressed on.

"Well, I thought that the logical conclusion would be that these U.S. documents were a decoy for the truth.  You know, to stop the world's citizens from breaking down."  Otacon pressed a few more keys and a new document pulled up onto the screen.  "So I went back to the start, and found this."  The information officer gestured for Snake to have a closer look.  "It should have been more obvious earlier, but at least I finally got to the truth of it all.  The scientists were captured by the RNF (Russian Nationalist Force)."  Otacon pointed to some technological babble on the screen.  "See, this is the source code for this document.  I pulled it directly from the RNF's top secret network.  And believe me," he added with a bit of pride in his accomplishment, "it wasn't remotely easy."

Dave half smiled at Hal.  He wondered if it was at all possible for the slender man's chest to appear any broader than it did after he had made that last statement.  Snake had to hand it to him.  Hal Emmerich was the best at what he did, and he had every right to be proud.

"So, they're holding him in some underground base in Antarctica?" the mercenary probed for affirmation.

"Yep," Otacon stated.  "A bit more hacking, and I found the location right before I called you over here."

Snake nodded and read on, his eyes scanning the document.  At the end of the last page, he was still confused, and it showed plainly on his face.  Otacon, being his partner and good friend picked up on it right away.  Snake never really said much unless he felt it necessary, so Hal learned to pick up on Dave's facial cues.  He really felt that he knew "The Great Solid Snake" better than anyone else on this Earth.  He was right in assuming so.

Very few people have heard much else than the generic epics that were circulating about him.  Fewer people had the pleasure, or displeasure if they were on the wrong side of the battlefield, of meeting Snake in person.  Fewer still could manage to get the battle-hardened man to engage in friendly conversation.  Well, as friendly as Snake would allow himself to be.  Hal Emmerich was one of those few people, and was perhaps the best friend he had ever had.

Otacon was a shy individual who carried a constant burden of an emotional and rather painful past.  Yet he never failed to be gentle and kind, if even a bit naïve.  He was a hopeless optimist, and also a hopeless romantic, believing he could help save the world one mission of peace at a time.  Being a part of it all made Snake wonder sometimes, if a bit of that naïve optimism had brushed off on him.  Hal could tell that this bothered him, so he never brought up that point with him.

            "You're wondering, 'So what exactly is going on', right Snake?" Otacon spoke for his friend.

            The other grunted a short affirmative and waited for Otacon's explanation.

            "Well, Snake, to tell you the truth, I couldn't dig up any information about the specifics."

The information specialist paused to summarize his words.  He knew how much his partner hated lengthy, long-winded explanations.  Snake was a "right to the point" kind of guy.  "For someone so trained and collected," Otacon thought to himself with a silent mental chuckle, "Dave is a rather impatient man."

"All I know is," he continued, sliding up his ever-falling glasses once more with a quick gesture, "The RNF kidnapped Drs. Anja Raznov and Mikael Chetnik, and have them working on something called the 'E. Weapon Project'."

"The E. Weapon Project?" Snake asked as his interest grew.  "This might be interesting."

"Yes.  This is where the 'I don't know' part comes in.  There are no other traceable documents with anything containing the project codename."  Otacon shrugged, "If I don't know anything else about it, I can't search any deeper than I already have."

Snake nodded.  "Do you think that they're building a special type of Metal Gear?" he asked.

"It's possible," Dave's friend replied, "but when I entered in words like 'Metal Gear', 'Rex', and 'Ray', nothing even closely related popped up."  Otacon knitted his brow in deep thought.  He spun his chair around to face Snake.

Dave was leaning casually against the wall digging in his pockets for something.  If Hal was correct, it was his cigarettes he was searching for.  As Snake produced a small box of Newports, Hal found himself shaking his head.  "I always reprimand him about those cigarettes when I should be more worried about bullets whizzing past his head," he mused.  With a click of the lighter, the cigarette was lit, and Snake took in a deep drag, savoring the flavor.  He held the draw in for a few moments before slowly blowing it out into a billow of gray-white smoke.  Otacon found himself subconsciously waving the smoke from his face.  Snake's vice really got on his nerves.

"Sorry," Snake said opening the window next to him, "I forgot."

Half-lying, Hal replied, "It's alright."

Solid Snake was not used to living with someone else.  Even though they had been living together since the end of the "Shadow Moses Incident", and the beginning of Philanthropy, Dave had to remind himself time and time again that cigarette smoke made the pale, skinny man that he called friend, ill.  Unfortunately a habit was a habit, and since Snake had picked up smoking before he had even started puberty, he doubted greatly that he'd be able to quit now.  Besides, he didn't want to.  That nicotine and menthol rush was just what he needed sometimes to calm his nerves.  Snake took another drag from his cigarette.  He supposed that he could have worse habits…

Philanthropy had a total of three official members, and two or three others who occasionally offered them some assistance.

There was Mei Ling, who though good at gathering information herself, was more apt at coming up with useless proverbs than offering anything useful.  Anything she could hack in to, Otacon could hack deeper.  However, Mei was learning Hal's secrets, and she was quickly becoming better everyday.  Another thing to make Otacon proud:  teaching his student well, and watching her bloom.  The two could not be more alike either.  Both had that juvenile naïveté that made Snake roll his eyes at.  He wondered if either person had even seen a battlefield.  Mei Ling lived in her own place in downtown New York City.  She had her place filled with all of the same extensive computer equipment that Otacon had.  She worked from there when Otacon needed a break, though he usually had to go back over her work and delve deeper into whatever it was she found.

            Then of course there was Dave, a.k.a. Solid Snake, and Hal Emmerich, a.k.a. Otacon.  The two lived on the other side of town in a small two bedroom apartment.  It was a makeshift base, perfect for such a small group.  Guns, knives, and weapons of all kinds were splayed out across the living room and Snake's bedroom.  It was a rather impressive arsenal for a one-man army.  Then there was, what seemed like, miles of cables, bundled together at places, lining the floor.  Each set of wires ended at another delicate piece of computer equipment.  The main terminal, attached to the most powerful of all of the machines, was sitting on a cheap, metal-framed desk in Otacon's room.  It was from there that he dove into every secret military network in the world, searching for any evidence of a new Metal Gear or equally threatening weapon.  After all, it was Philanthropy's main objective to expose and destroy all of these weapons that would tip the balance of the world's delicate arms race standoff.  Of course, for hopeless dreamers like Hal Emmerich, the ultimate goal of his group was world peace.

            Snake flicked his ashes and looked back at Otacon.  "So," he said, bringing up the subject at hand again, "What do you think that the 'E.' stands for?"

            Otacon was just as clueless as his partner, but he had to offer some sort of suggestion.  "Energy, perhaps?" he said, taking a wild guess.  "Maybe they're trying to harness a new kind of energy to power the weapon systems of a new prototype Metal Gear?"

            "It's a theory," Snake said knowing that Otacon was just bluffing a guess so as not to appear as clueless as that puzzled look on his face.  "We'll investigate more tomorrow," he said, snuffing out his cigarette.  "There's not much else we can do tonight until we share this info with Mei Ling, and come up with a plan."

            Otacon opened his mouth to begin a protest, "But there's still more I need to find, and…"

            "And what?" Snake interrupted, "You're tired.  You won't do us all much good if you're passed out at the keyboard."

            Otacon blinked a few times, removing his glasses to clean them with his t-shirt.  His hazel eyes were bloodshot and glazed over with sleeplessness.  Snake could see it better now that Hal had removed his glasses.  This only fueled him further to press the scientist into getting some rest.  He knew, however, that Hal could be stubborn and rather insistent at times.  Dave also knew that as a result, he'd have to resort to the usual "Snake-like" persuasion.

            "Ow!" Otacon cried out as Snake grabbed his arm roughly, "Hey!  What do you think you're doing?"

            "Putting the baby down for 'beddie-bye'," Dave replied wryly.

            "No fair!" the skinnier man whined in protest while trying in vain to free his wiry arm from Snake's death grip.

            After realizing that his struggling was doing nothing but bruising his fair, sun-starved skin further, he resigned his efforts and gave into his friend's demands.  "Alright," Hal said simply.

            Snake let a smirk cross his face.  "He's a grown man," he thought, loosening his grip a bit, "but sometimes he acts like a big child."

            Dave knew that Otacon was more than tired at this point to have given up so easily this time.  He tugged his friend along over to the bed and sat him down on it.

            "I'm going to stand here until you lay down," Snake said, crossing his arms over his chest.

            Otacon looked down at his feet, a bit ashamed to be treated by his friend this way.  He untied his sneakers and removed them from his feet.  He laid them beside his bed, neatly pairing them together, left shoe on the left, and right shoe on the right.  Next came his socks, which he tucked away, one in each shoe.

            Snake laughed silently to himself.  Otacon was not only the kind of person to hate to leave a job unfinished, but he was a bit of a neat freak too.  He constantly went around their apartment reorganizing things.  Even now, as sleep threatened to overtake him at any second, Hal was organizing his shoes and socks.  Normally Snake would have something smart to say about it, but he figured that he'd save it for tomorrow.

            Otacon continued removing his unnecessary items of clothing.  Next to go was his lab coat that he kept bleach-bright white at all times.  Otacon reached forward to drape it over his desk chair, but he couldn't quite reach.  He dared not stand again, or Dave would just push him down on his butt again.  He offered it to Snake, who in turn threw it on the seat of his chair.  Not exactly what Otacon had in mind, but it'd have to do.  Letting out a sigh, he removed his glasses and placed them on his nightstand in front of the alarm clock.  Leaving on his favorite green t-shirt and black pants, Hal slid himself under the covers.

            Satisfied, Snake turned to leave.

            "Goodnight," came a small voice from behind him.

            "Night," Dave replied simply, shutting the door behind him.

            As Otacon lay there, he thought about the information he had uncovered.  There was so much more he had to find out, and so much planning they needed to do.  He seriously thought about sneaking his way back to the computer, but as quickly as that last thought came into his mind, his eyes pulled shut completely, and Otacon was fast asleep.

***

            Solid Snake went back to cleaning his guns.  He knew now that he was definitely going to have to have them in tiptop shape for the mission ahead.  Snake narrowed his eyes.  Another mission and another bloody battlefield.  When does it all stop?  Snake had been doing this kind of thing almost his whole life, so he was used to it.  That didn't mean that he liked it.  Snake cocked his Socom a few times to make sure that the mechanism wasn't going to stick up on him.  It moved with ease, so he placed it on the coffee table along with all of the others.

            Dave tried to stifle back a yawn, but it was too powerful.  He remembered that his sleeping habits were no better than Hal's, and he grumbled.  He hated sleep.  His dreams were always filled with death and shadows of a dark past.  If he didn't wake up with a start from one nightmare or another, he'd wake up in the morning, unrefreshed and just as, if not more, tired as when he laid down.  Tossing and turning as violently as Snake did in his sleep was enough to keep anyone fatigued.  He knew he had to do it anyways.  Just as he lectured Otacon on his sleeping habits, the scientist never forgot to give Snake the old "if you don't get enough REM sleep, you'll go crazy" lecture.  Snake scoffed at that thought as he pulled himself out another cigarette.  "I went crazy long ago," he thought to himself.

            Snake lit up his cigarette and took a long drag, drawing the smoke deep into his lungs, and then letting it out from both his nose and mouth.  Dave closed his eyes and let the cigarette work its magic on his nerves.  He supposed he'd try sleep again after he finished.

            He got up from the couch where he was sitting and headed for his bedroom.  He didn't bother turning on the lights, and he still managed to expertly maneuver his way around his clothes and guns that were strewn about the floor to his bed.  He finished his cigarette, and removed his tank and camo pants.  Bare-chested and boxer-clad, he slid his muscular form under his sheet, throwing his blanket to the floor.  He anticipated a sweat, so he felt it best to keep as cool as possible while he slept.  Snake closed his eyes, and let sleep come to him.

Author's Notes:

This Chapter introduces the story and just gives the reader a quick refresher about the characters and such.

Cover art for this story can be seen at www.thefrostedrose.com/frozenwasteland/images/EODwc.JPG


	2. Chapter 2: Friendship

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 2:  Friendship

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 2:  Friendship

            Otacon never had to worry about setting his alarm clock for anything.  He wondered why he even wasted the space on this nightstand for it.  Like everyday, right on schedule, he was woken up abruptly to the sounds of agonized screaming from the room next to him.  Though he knew almost certainly what it was about, the kind-hearted scientist went to check on his friend anyways, like he did everyday.  

Hal reached over and grabbed his glasses off the nightstand, and put them on as he got up out of bed and ran out his door.  He banged on Snake's door repeatedly to assure that if Dave was still sleeping, he'd wake up.

            "Snake?" Hal called out, "Are you alright?"

            Snake sat up, his head buzzing.  "Damn it, Otacon!" he shouted back, "I'm fine!"

            The insistent pounding stopped, and Dave stretched his arms out, yawning.  Just as he expected, he had wasted another four hours on trying to sleep.  In addition, he had woken up Otacon again too.  He cursed himself under his breath.  That poor man had too much to worry about to be startled like that every morning.  But, as Snake noticed, Hal took it with a grain of salt.  It was just part of a daily routine for him now.  It still made Snake mad because it wasn't like Otacon just woke up and then let himself roll over and fall back asleep.  No.  He always came to check up on him.  Snake tried to tell his friend on numerous occasions that this was not necessary, but he was blatantly ignored.  If Hal wasn't a good friend, then Snake didn't know who was.

            The sudden aroma of coffee, bacon, and eggs danced up Dave's nose, beckoning him to the kitchen.  He smiled, "And he's even making me breakfast too."

            Snake slid his pants on that he wore yesterday, and maneuvered his way through the minefield of a floor to the kitchen.  Stretching his arms out again, then scratching his head, he looked up at Hal who was diligently cooking a rather delicious smelling breakfast.

            Half a dozen eggs were sizzling in a well-greased frying pan.  In another, a whole pound of bacon left a sweet smell in the air as it cooked.  Snake picked up on it and realized that the bacon was honey-cured.  His mouth was heavily salivating.  "If I can't get my energy replenished with sleep," he thought to himself, "I guess I'll have to do it with food."  He laughed mentally, "Looks like Otacon had the same idea too."

            Hal turned off the burner that was cooking the eggs and turned around to grab the large serving plate that he'd set out on the counter.  He jumped back, suddenly aware that he wasn't alone.

            "Geez, Snake!  When did you sneak in here?" Hal asked with his hand still on his chest.  "You scared the piss outta me!"  He moved his hand from his heart to push up his glasses.

            Snake just laughed.  Sometimes, his friend could be so jumpy.

            "It's not funny," Otacon said indignantly.  "Usually I know when you've come for your breakfast because I smell your cigarette smoke.  It's usually the first…err second," he corrected himself, "thing you do in the morning."

            "That reminds me…" Dave said, patting the sides of his pants, feeling for his little box of nerve suppressors.

            Otacon rolled his eyes.  Great.  He had to mention the cigarette thing.  Now his one and probably only chance to have breakfast without having smoke blown up his nose was ruined.  He mentally kicked himself as he went back to serving up breakfast.

            Snake lit up his morning cigarette and sighed.  He felt a bit of relief from his tension, but his body still ached.

            Hal laid out all of the food on the counter.  "Breakfast is ready," he said, grabbing himself a small plate of food and heading for his computer.  He sat down, starting back into his work right away, from where he left off last night.

            The engineer paused for a moment to a muscular hand holding a double-sized mug of black coffee outstretched to him.  He took the mug from his friend.

            "Thanks," he said, "Almost forgot the most important nutrient of them all:  Caffeine."

            He gulped down the hot coffee as if the heat didn't phase him.  The truth be known, it was probably just his tired mind refusing to process the burning sensation.  Sure his mouth was well seasoned from many hot pots of coffee, but this brew was fresh, and he hadn't even blown across the top of the liquid to cool it down.

            "I wonder what'd happen to you if they got rid of coffee?" Snake said, teasing his friend, and amazed at how fast he was putting away that hot brew.

            Hal pulled the mug away from his lips just long enough to retort, "I'd look like Hell, like you!"

            Snake looked at his reflection in Otacon's computer screen, then looked down at his partner.  Both were in desperate need of a shave to remove the shadow that they'd been growing.  Both men's eyes had deep black circles around them, and red lines running through them.  Neither had brushed their hair, or even taken a shower in a few days.

            "Too late." Snake came back wryly, raising his chin with a quick gesture towards his friend's reflection.

            Otacon realized, as he looked at himself in his monitor, exactly what Snake was talking about.  It didn't occur to the usually tidy man until now, just how scruffy two straight days of work could make a person.  He blushed, a bit embarrassed at letting himself get this way.  He fidgeted a bit, and ran his fingers through his deep brown locks, trying to straighten them out a bit.

            Snake, watching his friend, laughed at his futile grooming display.  "I hardly think that that's going to help at this point," he said in response.

            Otacon blushed again.  Snake was right.  It really was too late to try to straighten himself out now.  Besides, his friend had already noticed that he was rather scruffy, and he had been in worse shape in front of Dave before.  Nevertheless, it was brought to his attention, so he placed his now empty mug next to his keyboard, and got up.

            "I suppose a shower would feel good right about now," he said.

            Looking back at his chair, he realized that he had been sitting on his lab coat.  He rubbed his hands over his face in tired frustration.

            "Great," he mumbled audibly, yet more to himself than his friend, "Now I have to iron that."

            Snake, remembering that it was he who had just thrown the coat on the seat in a heap last night, apologized, "Sorry."

            "Man.  Otacon must really be tired to not have noticed that he was sitting on his lab coat," Dave thought to himself, feeling his guilt for having woken up Hal begin to rise again.

            Otacon picked up his coat, and shook it out, trying to get out the freshly pressed wrinkles.  He then laid it neatly over the back of his chair as he intended it to have been last night.  Forgetting about his breakfast, he headed over to his dresser drawers and began to dig out some fresh clothes.  All of his drawers were neat and organized, with the clothes folded perfectly.

            Snake watch his friend pull out a green and blue sweater, and a pair of navy dockers.  He marveled at the "filing system" and thought that maybe it was time that he gave his drawers an overhaul.  He was getting tired of searching through piles of clothes to get to his t-shirts.

            Otacon carried his clothes, still folded with him to the bathroom.  Breakfast would have to wait.  He'd rather eat it cold then spend a moment longer aware of his own filth.  He sighed as he laid his clothes neatly on the sink counter.  For that matter, he didn't want to sit around in front of Snake like that.  For some reason, that he himself could not figure out yet, it embarrassed the Hell out of him.

            Snake noticed that Hal's plate of food wasn't missing a single bite.  He called after his friend, "Hey Otacon?"

            "Yeah," he replied.

            "Aren't you going to eat your breakfast first?"

            "No," the other answered, "That's alright.  I'll eat it when I get out.  He turned to shut the door, but found Dave standing in the doorway.  Hal blushed.

            "Are you sure?" Snake pressed on, a look of concern on his face.

            "I'm sure," he assured his friend.  "I'd just feel better if I were clean, that's all."  He looked down at his feet shuffling them.  Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a black bath towel lying on the floor.  Hal picked it up, tossing it at Snake's head.  Snake's trained reflexes allowed him to dodge the throw.

            "You missed," the mercenary said tauntingly.

            Otacon's embarrassment lifted a bit.  "Yeah, well… pick up your stuff, will ya?" he said, scolding him.

            Snake smiled in his usual cocky manner and shut the door.

            On his way back to the kitchen, Snake crumpled the towel into a ball and hurled it into his room.  It landed amongst the rubble, and would probably disappear beneath another layer of junk soon.

            "No," Snake thought, "I'm not going to let that happen."

            He grabbed himself some eggs and bacon, and poured himself a mug of coffee.  Dave went to the fridge and pulled out the half and half.  He poured a generous amount into the cup, its white liquid clouding up the darkness of the coffee.  He stirred it in good, and then took a sip.  It had been cooled enough from the cream to drink.  Cream gave the otherwise bitter drink some body to it.  Snake hated foods and drinks that were lacking in rich flavor.  It was a good thing that he was an active person, or those fat laden bacon strips would've caught up to him by now.  With all of the physical work Snake had to do all of the time, he doubted that it would ever become a problem for him.

            "Otacon stays so thin because he doesn't eat properly," he thought.  "It's because he's always worrying about something."

Snake shoveled a few forkfuls of eggs into his mouth.  They were delicious.  His friend was rather skilled with the frying pan, even if the chef himself rarely ever tasted his own cuisine.

"His anxiety's reached its peak.  I don't think I've ever seen him this frazzled before."  Snake knitted his brow in thought.  "There's gotta be something specific that he's worried about, and not just the usual jitters."

Snake wished that he knew what it was, but just didn't know how to go about asking Hal about it.  Dave just wasn't good with that sort of subject.  Emotions were not his specialty, and not surprisingly either.  All of his years of military training, and years of living on a battlefield made him suppress his emotions, and he didn't think it'd be a good idea to dig them out again.  Solid Snake was very important to Philanthropy as its one man army, and he couldn't risk tainting his skills that way.

Finishing the last bit of his breakfast, he laid his dish on the counter.  If he couldn't talk to Otacon about what was bothering him, then the least he could do for his friend was help alleviate some of his tension.

"Well," Dave said, "I'd better get started."

***

Otacon stood there for a few minutes staring at the door before moving to remove his clothes.  He took each article off one by one, placing them into a small wicker hamper in the corner of the room.  He laid his glasses down next to the sink and turned to face himself in the mirror.  The now clear view he had of himself was worse than the one he had seen in his computer monitor.  He turned away in disgust, and started the water in the shower.  

Hal tended to like his showers on the hot side.  It was good for relieving tensed muscles, and above all else:  the hotter the water, the more germs he was killing.  After giving the water a chance to heat up, he tested the temperature with his fingertips.  Perfect.  The pale, slender man got in, letting the hot water run through his hair and down his back.  It felt so good, and he let out a sigh.

Otacon let his thoughts wander to Antarctica.  From a scientist's standpoint, it would be a really great place to go.  Almost the entire continent is untouched land.  Many discoveries are yet to be made.  Underneath the layers and layers of ice and snow could be the secrets of Earth's origin.  Or, it could be hiding prehistoric plants, long extinct, perfectly preserved, whose properties could cure many deadly diseases, saving millions of lives.

Yes, it was every scientist's dream to explore the unknown frontier of Antarctica, but Hal would be stuck up in a building somewhere far from all of the action.  He would be observing from afar, directing Snake by codec.  Hal's heart will palpitate with every shot fired, as each bullet could mean the end of a dear friend and partner.  

Hal grimaced at that last thought as he poured the combination shampoo/conditioner into his hand.  He worked it into his hair, making sure to get a good lather.

Another dangerous mission for Snake… Otacon felt like he was worthless.  He felt his situation comparable to that of a person who's found out that his friend's mother was in danger, so he tells his friend, and lets his friend go off to save her all alone.  Otacon felt a lump build up in his throat.  He wouldn't be able to bear losing someone else right now.  Not after losing his stepsister, Emma.  That was a whole year ago, but it seemed like yesterday.  Hal had to just continue believing that the "Great Solid Snake" was as invincible as others rumored him to be.  It was kind of hard to thought, considering he knew the man behind the legend, and he was just a man after all.

Hal moved his head back under the massaging spray of hot water to rinse his hair.  The rhythm of the pounding droplets on his back was hypnotic.  He was almost sucked into it as he closed his eyes.  Hal shook his head, waking himself from the hypnosis.  "No.  I've got to remain focused," he scolded himself, "even if it's just taking a shower."

Soaping up his washcloth, he washed his body, taking extra care to scrub himself well.  Otacon's body was smooth, and virtually hairless, so the soap slid down his slim contours quickly, and into the drain.  Stepping under the water one last time, the last of the soap ran down, leaving a clean feeling behind.  Satisfied with his hygienic state, Otacon turned off the water and reached for his towel.  It easily wrapped around his small waist.

He stepped out into the steam-filled room.  It kept him warm as the water evaporated off of his skin.  He wiped off the fogged mirror with the blue hand towel that was hanging on a hook on the wall next to him.  Hal peered at his reflection again, reevaluating himself.  Well, at least the dirt was gone, but the water had not the power to wash away the tiredness in his eyes.  The black puffy circles that lined his eyes were just as dark as when he stepped in.

He rubbed the stubble on his chin.  That was definitely the next thing to go.  Pulling out his electric razor and plugging it into the wall, Otacon thought to himself with a bit of amusement, about how lax his roommate was about shaving. 

A few quick strokes was all it took to clean up Hal's face.  Though quite visible due to its dark brown color, his facial hair pattern was rather sparse in some areas, especially his moustache area.  Years ago, Hal had tried to grow a moustache, but he found it to be a futile effort and gave up after two weeks of no shaving, and no more than a few baby fine hairs sprouting from above his lip.

Otacon cleaned the hair from the counter and got dressed, after which he brushed his teeth.

First opening the door to let out the steam, Hal grabbed his glasses off of the sink.  He used his sweater to wipe them off with, then put them back on.  The air outside of the bathroom felt cool, like it usually did after stepping out after a shower.  He detected something else this time though.  Something… fresh?  It wasn't until now that Hal noticed something different about the apartment.  It was… clean?

Walking over to Snake's room, he peeked in the doorway.  The minefield had been cleared and his bed was made.  Otacon's eyes widened as he scanned the place.  All of the guns, weapons, camera equipment and such were neatly stacked in their appropriate cases and crates.  But what he saw next, made him smile ear to ear.  There was Snake, with the ironing board, ironing out the scientist's lab coat for him.

Snake looked up from what he was doing.  "I was beginning to wonder if you had dozed off in there," he said sarcastically.

Hal brushed back a few strands of wet hair from his face.  "No.  Not this time," he said, recalling the many other times that he had done so.  "What's all of this for?" Otacon asked, gesturing around the apartment.

"Huh?  Oh… It's nothing.  Don't mention it, " Snake answered.  He finished pressing out the last wrinkle and turned off the iron.  Picking up the lab coat, he shook it out to cool off the fabric.

"Here ya go," Dave said, tossing the coat at his friend, "Good as new."

Otacon reached out for the item flying at him.  He caught it with both hands.  "You didn't have to do all of this, you know," the scientist said putting his freshly ironed coat on.

"Yeah I did," Snake replied.  "You're always taking care of this place, and most of all, you're always taking care of me.  It's just my ways of saying thanks, Otacon."

Hal's eyes shifted to the floor.  Yeah, he did kinda take care of Snake all of the time.  But, isn't that what friends do for one another?  It's the least he could do for Snake having saved his life.  He owed his life to him.  His life…

Otacon got to thinking.  "Snake, I…"

The phone rang.  Dave ran off to get it.

"Hold that thought," he said.  "It's probably Mei Ling.  I left a message for her to call me back."  

Snake picked up the receiver.  "Yeah?"

"Oh, hi Snake!" Mei said in her usual heavy Asian accent, "What's up?"

"A lot," the mercenary replied, "That's why I called you.  We've got trouble."

"Trouble?" she asked, "A new mission?"

"Yeah.  But of course, we'd rather brief you in person."

"Oh of course," Mei agreed, "Better to err on the side of caution than to…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Snake cut her off, "I know the rest."

"Hmph," she snorted, "Sometimes you can be so mean."  Mei Ling paused for a second.  "So, what time do you want to meet up?"

Snake looked at the digital display on the range.  "Hmmm… It's 9 o'clock now.  How about 5?  Your place ok?"

"Sounds good!" the overly cheery woman said, "I'll make dinner too."

"Alright.  5 o'clock then," Snake confirmed.  "Later."

"See you then." Mei said, hanging up the phone.

Author's Notes:

Hmmm… Nothing that I can think of.


	3. Chapter 3: Moving On

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 3:  Moving On

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 3:  Moving On

            "Jack!" Rose cried, tears streaming down her face, "Where are you going?"

            The man once known as Raiden pulled his clothes out of the closet, and began stacking them into the suitcases that were lying on the bed.  He ignored the question, intent on leaving as quickly as possible.  It was this kind of melodrama that Rose always put him through that he was running away from.  He kept to the task at hand, as best as he could.

            "Jack…" Rose whined again, this time more insistent.

            Jack began to realize that conversation was unavoidable.  If he just kept quiet, she would just get louder and more obnoxious.

            "Rose," he said sighing, "don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

            The first suitcase was filled to the max, and the platinum blond had a hard time closing it.  It finally zipped shut, but the seams were on the verge of bursting.

            Not looking up from what he was doing, Jack continued, "We've been through this already.  It's just not working out."

            "I don't understand," Rose said.  "What have I done to make you hate me so much?"

            "What hasn't she done?" Jack thought to himself.  He didn't know if he quite hated her as she claimed, but he had a definite strong disliking for the woman.  Her grating, whiney voice wasn't helping her case either.

            Jack picked up the first suitcase and dragged it off the bed, and on to the floor with a thud.  Damn.  It was going to be a bitch to carry.  But he knew, the fewer trips he made, the fewer confrontations, like this one, he'd have to deal with.  He needed the exercise anyway.

            "I told you," Jack explained for what seemed like the millionth time, "This relationship was built on lies, and I just don't think that it's a good thing to base a relationship on."

            Rose looked at the floor.  There was no way she could deny that she was never fully honest with her boyfriend.  Though initially, Jack was just an assignment, she had come to be fond of his company.

            "That's not fair," she defended, "I already told you that I'm sorry.  You already forgave me.  What more do you want out of me?"

            "My freedom," Jack retorted.  "And yes, I forgave you, but I haven't forgotten."  All of those lies, and he still gave their relationship another chance because he loved the woman he had first met.  But continuing the relationship with Rose after everything was uncovered was like starting a relationship with someone totally new.  He soon found this out the hard way.

            "Jack," the young woman pleaded, "Please, if you must go, at least tell me where you're going."

            He sighed deeply.  "I just need to be on my own to think awhile, that's all."

            The faint sound of a baby crying in the room next to them caught Jack's attention.  It was Iroquois, their son, named after and alternate alias of someone he respected greatly.  Iroquois was born eight months after that day he and Solid Snake parted ways.

It was been a year since he tried to start over with a new life, but he found himself doubting his worth.  Snake and Otacon were strong people, fighting for a cause, fighting for the future.  Now, more than ever, was that important to Jack, and he thought often about whether or not the two men would ever be successful in their endeavors.

He went to Iroquois' room and picked up his son.  He cradled him gently, soothing his tears away.  Iroquois stopped crying and rested his head on his Daddy's shoulder.  He was the spitting image of Jack: blond hair on the borderline of white and frosty blue eyes.

Whenever he looked into his son's eyes, it got Jack thinking about things.  Finally, today, he decided what it was he needed to do for him, and his son.  He would seek out Solid Snake and join Philanthropy's efforts in creating a secure future for Iroquois, and all of the children of the world to live in.  Only then could Jack find his worth; not sitting here feeling sorry for himself, waiting for others to do the job for him.  He would make use of what he had learned in his dark past as a child soldier, and use it to leave it all behind.

Heading into the kitchen, with the baby still half asleep on his shoulder, Jack opened up the fridge.  He pulled out a fresh bottle of breast milk, sitting it on the counter.  He filled up a bowl with hot water and placed the bottle in it to warm its contents up.  Iroquois reached his fingers out lazily and began to tug lightly on his father's hair.  It hurt a bit, but Jack let him continue.  It would be a little while before he'd see his son again, and he cherished the time he was spending with him.

Rose stepped into the kitchen, her face red, puffy, and streaked with wetness.  She stood there, staring at him as he began feeding their four month old baby boy.  Not wanting to disturb father and son time, she remained silent.

Iroquois finished the last ounce of milk with a slurp, and Jack pulled the bottle away before he had time to suck air into his stomach.  He placed his son back up on his shoulders, patting his back lightly.  Iroquois let out a soft burp, then contented, fell right back to sleep, nuzzling his cheek into the curve of his Daddy's neck.  

He reluctantly placed the baby back in his cradle, not wanting to let go of him.  Jack paused to admire him as he slept.  Iroquois looked like an angel.

He carefully shut the door to the nursery, making sure it didn't make any noise, and then headed back to his bedroom to finish packing.  His eyes met Rose's calmly, then looked away.

"Will you abandon your son too?"

The question sounded ludicrous to Jack at first, but after awhile, he began to wonder if he really would.  Not intentionally of course, but if he were to die out there in a fight, he would, in a sense, be leaving Iroquois behind.  But this was something he just had to do.  Sneaking in a bit of half-truth he replied, "No, I would never do that."

Jack closed up the last of his suitcases.  His next question was hopeful, and he prayed that Rose would answer in a positive manner.

"If I go, will you stop me from seeing my baby?"

"Roses tears welled up in her eyes again.  "No," she sobbed, "I could never deny Iroquois his father.  Jack, he needs you.  That's why you can't go.  I need you too!" Rose began pleading once more.

Pulling the last of his important belongings out of the closet, Jack made sure to grab the sword that had been a gift to him.  He gazed at the hilt thoughtfully, then strapped it to his back.

"Thank you for not taking my little boy away from me.  I'll be back soon to see him."

"I hope that when you do come back, it'll be for good," Rose expressed to him.

"I wouldn't count on it," he replied, grabbing his suitcases.

Without another word, he left.  Jack had already rented out a small studio apartment about 2 miles away.  "It'll be nice to spend a night on my own for once," he thought.

Though his suitcases were really heavy, Jack decided to take it on foot.  It would give him time to clear his head, and think about how he was going to go about finding Solid Snake.

***

Rose paced the apartment, nervously biting her nails.  She heard a familiar buzzing in her ear.  It was her codec, and the woman knew exactly who was calling.

She answered it. "Rose here."

The voice on the other end spoke to her.

"Yes.  I had to let him leave," she replied, "otherwise he would've gotten suspicious.  But don't worry, he'll be back.  He would never abandon his child, just as you said he wouldn't."

Author's Notes:

I couldn't think of a better way to emphasize Jack's worship of Snake than to have him give his son a name in tribute to him.


	4. Chapter 4: Life Debt

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 4:  Life Debt

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for language (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 4:  Life Debt

            "Snake, I'm coming with you," Otacon said as soon as his friend hung up the phone.  His eyes were intense, even with his glasses on.

            Dave turned around to face the scientist, an eyebrow raised, "You can't be serious, Otacon."

            But Hal was serious, and that fact was becoming quite apparent to the seasoned warrior.  Otacon adjusted his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and stared deep into Snake's vibrant green eyes.  "I mean it," he answered.

            Dave frowned a bit, wondering why Hal would say such a thing.

            "What do you plan to do in Antarctica… freeze to death?" he said in a smart manner to try to lighten the mood a bit.  It was the only thing Snake could think of at the moment to say to him.

            "If it comes down to that, yes," the scientist replied.

            At this point, Snake was beyond confused.  Was Otacon just joking when he said that, or was he really talking crazy?  What the hell was he talking about?  There was only one way he could knock some sense into his friend.

            "You'll just get in the way.  You know me anyways.  I prefer to work alone," Snake reminded him.

            "You can't talk me out of it," Otacon came back, "I'll do whatever it takes to prepare, and I'll fix the stealth camo too."

            Man, he was a persistent bastard.  Dave had seen this stubbornness in Hal before.  He knew that the scientist meant well, but it would be too risky, no mater what kind of scientific assistance he could provide.  Snake was almost certain he could handle whatever it was with just Otacon's codec direction.  Besides, his partner was rather flighty, and probably would piss his pants at the first sound of gunfire.  He had already proven that to him the first time Snake met Otacon at Shadow Moses.  The poor guy was shaking with fear in a puddle of his own urine.  

He hadn't changed much since then, even though he had seen the casualties of war up, close, and personal.  Hal had been stained with the blood of his own stepsister, as she lay dead in his arms.  Snake had to admit, though, it took Otacon a lot of courage to keep going and rescue those hostages.

"Dave, I want to help," he said, breaking Snake's train of thought.

Hal flopped down on the couch and put his head in his hands.  Removing his glasses, he rubbed some of the frustration and tiredness out of his eyes.

Something was definitely bothering the man, and now the mercenary was one hundred percent sure.  He walked over to the hunched over form and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Otacon, what's wrong?" Snake asked finally, after putting the question off long enough.  "Something's really eating at you lately."  He sat down beside his friend.  "Come to think of it, I believe it all started right around the time that you had come across the early details of the intelligence."

Uncharacteristically of him, Otacon had nothing to say.  He simply brushed the dark brown hair from his face, then replaced his signature glasses.  Dave sometimes wondered if the man hid behind them.

Hal Emmerich did hide behind his glasses.  He was always so unsure of himself, and his lack of self-esteem was forever apparent to anyone who looked at the pale, skinny man.  Though he had spent most of his life alone, and he was a bit more used to it in his later years, Hal had an immense fear of isolation.    Everyone he had ever cared about either died or betrayed him.  Meeting Snake was probably one of the happiest things to ever happen to him.  They had gotten really close, and each trusted the other infinitely; something Otacon was sure that Snake had never done before.

They had another battle ahead of them, and it will be yet another time of uncertainty for him.  Snake might not return this time, and he might be left alone once more.  No.  He couldn't just sit around and wait for that to happen.  This time, he'll help to better ensure that it won't happen.

"Snake?" Hal began, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, Otacon?  I'm listening," his partner replied.

Hal's eyes still looked to the floor.  "You know, you're the best friend I've ever had," he told him.

"You too, Otacon," Dave said.  "I've never been able to say that about anyone, ever."  He patted Hal on the back, "You're a good guy."

"Me neither," the slender man returned.  "That's why I have to come with you."  His eyes met Snake's evenly, a bit wet with the precursor of tears.  He was trying desperately to keep himself from crying.  Hal already knew he was a bit of an emotional person, but he hated showing weakness to the man he admired so much.  Showing weakness now would only injure his case, so he swallowed the lump in his throat down hard.

Snake leaned his back against the back of the sofa, resting his arms behind his head in a casual manner.  "I still don't see where this is going."

Otacon pushed up his glasses, "Because I am your friend, I have to help you."

"But you will be," Snake argued.  "You'll be directing me by codec, remember?"  He saw his friend sigh and lean back to sit upright.  His hands rested in clenched fists in his lap.

"Damn it!  That's not good enough!" he snapped.

"Whoa!  Easy friend," Dave said, surprised at the usually mild-mannered man's sudden tone of voice.

"Sorry," the other apologized, a bit embarrassed.  Fists still clenched, Hal leaned over once more to try to hid his pre-tearing eyes from Snake.

The battle-hardened mercenary admired his friend's spirit and newfound courage, so he conceded, "Alright Otacon.  If it means that much to you."  Dave patted Hal on the back.  "It'll be kinda like Shadow Moses again, you and me working together, except a Hell of a lot colder."

Otacon smiled, then let out a chuckle, "Hard to believe anything could be colder than Alaska."

"Cold as a witch's tit on Hallow's Eve," Snake said laughing.

Hal started laughing out loud at that point.  Dave was glad to see his friend in better spirits.

The scientist removed his glasses and wiped away the fogging on his sweater from when his eyes were wet.  He quickly placed them back on his face, feeling naked and vulnerable to the world without them.

"I don't expect you to understand this, but it's just something I need to do, okay?"

"Okay," Snake replied simply, not questioning Otacon's motives anymore.  "Now go eat your breakfast, will ya?  You're too damned skinny already!"

Dave stood up and went to grab the plate of food that Hal had abandoned in his bedroom.  He took it to the kitchen and placed it in the microwave to heat up.  The delicious aroma of eggs and bacon filled the air once more, and it made Otacon's mouth salivate.

Solid Snake went to the hook over the treadmill and got down his lucky bandana.  Tying it securely to his forehead, he positioned himself, one foot on each side of the belt.  He turned on the machine, and started out at a slow jog.  Snake was going to have to get up his stamina for the mission ahead.  His body reveled in the exercise, begging for more.  He could never be a sedentary person.  A good burn felt so good.  Dave kicked it up a few notches, tired of warming up, just below sprinting pace.

The microwave beeped, signaling to Otacon that his food was ready.  He walked over and got his breakfast out, then sat down on the couch again.  Placing a forkful of eggs in his mouth, Hal watched his partner run on the treadmill.

The other man's body was perfect, not a flaw to it, save for some bullet wound scars here and there.  It glistened in the late morning sunshine that was sneaking through the closed slats of the venetian blinds.  It accentuated every muscular ripple and contour.  Though already soaked in sweat, his breathing was still deep and even as he ran.

Otacon blushed with embarrassment, then returned to his plate.  He bit into the bacon, which most would call under cooked.  It just tasted better chewy.  The longer you cook bacon, the more body and flavor it lost.  The first time Hal had cooked bacon for Dave, he had said something to about trying to poison him, but he soon learned to eat it no other way.

His plate was empty now, but Hal still felt a void in his stomach.  He looked back into the kitchen to see half a pot of coffee still sitting on the warmer.  Ah, that's what he needed: more coffee.  Pouring himself another double mug, he gulped it down, savoring the warmth; warmth he was later going to beg for in Antarctica.  

He looked back up at his partner.  If it was at all possible, Snake was actually running faster.  "He's amazing," Otacon thought to himself.  "I wish I had the strength he did."  He looked down at his skinny limbs.  How in the world did he think he could ever be up to the task of helping Snake?  He was too small to fight, too slow to run or dodge bullets, and too chicken to hold a gun, let alone fire one.  He'd just be hiding behind Snake like a useless shadow.

"I have to try," he thought.  "I have to do something for him.  I'm tired of watching him face death and not being able to do anything about it."  No matter his self-doubting, Otacon would be by his partner's side, and he prayed that he wouldn't let him down.

After half and hour, Snake slowed to a stop, turning off the treadmill.  Sweat ran from every pore, trickling down the creases of his body, and the only thing stopping the salty stream from assaulting his eyes was the gray-blue bandana on his forehead.  

He looked over to the kitchen to see his friend still standing there, mug in hand, watching him.  "I'm gonna hit the shower now too," Snake told him.  Grabbing a fresh towel from the linen closet, he headed for the bathroom and shut the door.

Otacon caught himself staring at the space where Dave had been just a moment before.  He sighed and moved to wash the dishes.

"I've got to get a grip, " Hal muttered to himself.  "I can't get scared.  I want to do this."  In a few short hours, he and Snake would travel across town to brief Mei Ling on the situation with the RNF.  "She'll probably chastise me too."

The slightly mysophobic man made sure to get the water in the sink good and soapy.  He turned up the heat to scald the dishes as he poured some extra antibacterial soap into the already foaming water.

"God damn it, Otacon!" Snake yelled from the bathroom.  "That's fucking cold!"

Oops.  He had forgotten about the shower.  The scientist quickly remedied the situation, turning off the flow of near boiling water.  He heard a contented sigh echo throughout the apartment.

If Otacon could barely pull it together here, he imagined how he was going to fare in Antarctica.  Shaking his head to temporarily remove those thoughts from it, Hal got back to scrubbing the dishes, which he did twice over, just to make sure that they were immaculate.

Just as he finished inspecting them and placing them back in their respective cabinet or drawer, out came Dave from the shower.  Oddly enough, he had shaven himself clean, and he was wearing a strong musk cologne.  "Since when did Snake care about little details like that?"  Then he remembered:  they were meeting up with Mei Ling tonight.  Good ol' Snake, getting ready for another game of "flirt and conquer".  Snake and Mei Ling couldn't be more opposite, and he had even expressed a great annoyance of her.  Hal found himself thinking a little too deep into it and blushed with embarrassment.

"Crack!" came the sound of the wet towel, as it struck hard against Otacon's rear end.

"Ow! Hey!" he cried out indignantly as he readjusted his glasses that were jolted almost completely off his face.  He turned to see Snake, towel in hand, standing before him naked.  He had risked his dignity to get a good smack on his friend.

Dave wrapped his towel back around him, heading for his bedroom to get dressed.  "I froze my ass off!" he said in a joking manner.

Otacon rubbed his stinging backside.  "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Snake called from the other room, sensing from his friend's tone of voice that he was taking this seriously.  "I'm just messin' with ya!"

He emerged from his room wearing not the usual casual camos or jeans and t-shirt, but in a half buttoned white dress shirt and black business casual pants.  Snake was also smoking yet another cigarette.

Hal frowned.  "What's the use of you getting up your stamina if you're going to smother your lungs with those?" he asked, pointing to the rest of the pack in Dave's hand.

Snake just laughed, and went back to his smoking.  He sat down sideways on the couch leisurely, with his feet up.

Otacon remembered then that he had some things he wanted to wrap up before going to Mei's that evening.

"I'm going to finish what I was doing and pull together some notes for our briefing.  I may lose track of time, so will you come get me when it's time to go?"

"Alright.  Just take it easy, okay?" his friend responded.

"I will," Otacon called back, halfway to his desk already.

He sat down in his chair, spinning it around a few times.  It was almost, to him, a ritual of focus.  He liked to do it to loosen himself up before starting work.

The hacker began by reviewing the documents he already had found.  If there was anything that he was missing, he'd find it.  Otacon squinted a bit as he leaned into the screen.  Why'd they have to type in such a small font?  Through with giving himself a headache, he reformatted the documents in a larger font.  That made things much easier, so he got back to work.

Hal spent the next few hours scouring the information.  He found it odd that there were no details to even hint him about what the "E. Weapon Project" consisted of.  There had to be something there to aid his further searching. 

Otacon pounded his fists on the desk on either side of the keyboard.  "Damn!" he exclaimed, "What is it that I'm missing?"  It was almost like the small dabble of information was there to tease him, as if it was saying "I know something you don't know".  

Otacon removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.  Though the text was now readably large, it was starting to hurt to read it.  He could swear that ever with his eyes now closed, he could still see black on white running across the backs of his eyelids.

A firm hand gripped his shoulder from behind.  "Come on.  You've done enough," Snake said.  "Another thirty minutes ain't going to make a difference."

Hal looked at the time displayed on his computer.  "I guess you're right," he conceded.  "We'd better get ready to go."

Solid Snake nodded his agreement.

The two pulled together everything they needed for their briefing.  Dave grabbed an extra pack of cigarettes and a bottle of wine to go with dinner.  He would've preferred beer, but formality always called for wine.  "Alcohol is alcohol," he shrugged.

Otacon transferred all of the relevant files into his laptop, then went back to the kitchen to pour the remaining portion of that morning's brew into a travel mug.  

On their way out the door, Snake grabbed a pair of sunglasses and put them on.  He liked to keep a low profile, and the dark, stylish shades seemed to compliment him well, he thought.

Hal looked at his friend in admiration.  Snake always made everything look good.  He self-consciously straightened out his lab coat and brushed out his pant legs.

Dave locked the door with a click, and they left for the subway station.

"Damn, we're late again," Snake commented.  "Mei Ling's gonna bitch about it, I'm sure." 

Author's Notes:

The part about the bacon being "undercooked" is a little quirk of mine.  I put that in there as a bit of a joke.  The first time I cooked bacon for my husband, he reacted the same way Snake did.  And, in the same way as I wrote, he now eats it no other way.

In case you didn't know, Mysophobia is the fear of germs/dirt.


	5. Chapter 5: Fate

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 5:  Fate

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for language (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 5:  Fate

            After unloading all of his heavy luggage onto the floor of his new apartment, Jack took a good look around at his surroundings.  The place was considerably smaller than Rose's, but it was cozy.  Jack didn't need much anyways.  He preferred a small empty place, with the exception of a porch, balcony, or bay window with a nice outside view.  This particular apartment accommodated that preference with a fifteenth floor balcony overlooking the Hudson River.

            Jack opened his suitcase and pulled out a photograph of Iroquois.  He placed the silver colored frame on the floor next to his sleeping bag.  He had now arranged for furnishings yet, but his living arrangements were alright for awhile.

            The room was quiet, and it started to bother the young man greatly.  Sure he had known quiet before, but now he was used to the pleasant sounds his son made when his father would spin him around in the air.  He was missing Iroquois already.

            "I need some fresh air," Jack said with a sigh.

            So he left the building and began to walk down the street again.  The early evening breeze was cool, though it was now June.  It felt good against his skin as the wind lightly ruffled his icy blond hair.  He breathed in deep, taking in the much needed oxygen.

            Jack decided to head out and see what Manhattan's night life was like.  After all, Rose would've never allowed him to do such a thing, and a couple of drinks at the bar sounded really good to him right now.

The young man headed down the stairs into the subway station, and waited on the crowded platform for the next train.  He had forgotten all about rush hour.  Jack shrugged.  He had all the time in the world, so there was nothing rushing him.

The subway squealed down the tracks as it slowed to a halt at the station.  The doors opened with a hiss, and Jack moved along with the crowd inside the closest car.  He migrated his way to the other wall and leaned casually against it.  The doors shut, leaving about a quarter of the people still standing there.  They'd have to wait for the train after this one.  The subway began its journey again down the tracks, the click clack sound speeding up in rhythm as it accelerated.

Jack surveyed the car.  It was filled to capacity.  He looked down the sea of heads, his eyes resting on a pair of men sitting in the far corner.  The one man sat with his arms crossed over his chest, with his head tilted downwards.  Though he couldn't tell through the dark sunglasses he wore, the man was probably asleep.  The posture seemed somewhat familiar.  When he saw the man sitting next to him, Jack finally understood why.  The other man was sitting quietly and almost nervously next to him, with his laptop computer clutched to his lap.

"I found them," Jack thought to himself in disbelief.  The chance sighting of the two men only strengthened Jack's feelings on joining their battle for the future.  It had to be fate.

He made his way around the people in the crowd eagerly.  As he approached the sleeping man, he realized his movements must've been detected, because Solid Snake almost jumped from his seat as he grabbed Jack in a chokehold.

Recognizing the blue face in front of him, Snake released his grip.

"Raiden?" he asked for confirmation.

"Yeah," he replied coughing, "nice to see you too."

"Hi, Raiden," Otacon said to him, outstretching his hand to shake the younger man's.

"Hey, Otacon," Jack said, taking the scientist's hand.

"So, what the Hell you been up to, kid?" Snake asked, "Did you start your new life?"

Raiden looked to the floor, "Yeah sort of."  He dug in his pocket, pulling out his wallet.  Flipping it open to a recent picture of his son, he passed it over to Snake.

Otacon peeked over his partner's shoulder to see the picture too.  "He's beautiful.  Looks just like you," he said.  "Rose's?"

"Unfortunately."

"Problems on the home front?" Snake asked handing back the wallet.

Jack nodded.  "It's just not working out."

"I see," the other replied.  "So, what's the kid's name?"

Raiden blushed a bit, "Iroquois."

Snake raised an eyebrow a bit surprised at what he had heard.

"Just a bit of hero worship," Jack justified quickly.

The mercenary let out a low irritated growl.  "I'm hardly the kind of person you should be naming your kid after."

"I think so," Jack said.

He paused and looked around.  He realized that what he had to say next might be overheard by the wrong kind of people.

"You still wired?" he said pointing to the spot behind his ear.

Snake nodded, then lifted his chin once at Otacon to signal to him to switch on his codec.

The three men tuned into frequency 140.80; the same frequency that Snake and Raiden had used to contact each other during the "Big Shell Incident".

"You both reading me?" the younger one asked.

"Affirmative," Otacon's voice sounded in his ear.

"Okay," Raiden began.  "The truth is, I think that you two are fighting for something great.  The future had never been important to me until the birth of my son.  As a father now, I realized that it was up to me to give Iroquois a future.  I've been struggling with that fact for awhile, and have come to a decision.  You see, I was on my way to seek you out.  It was pure luck that you ended up on the same train as me.  I want in.  On Philanthropy that is…"

Snake scoffed, "Don't be stupid, kid.  We're into some serious shit.  If you got yourself killed, Iroquois wouldn't have a father.  Besides, we don't need any help.  We're doing fine on our own."

"Well, actually, we could use the help," Otacon began.

Snake cut him off short with a smack to the back of the head.  Hal put his glasses that were knocked off, back on his face, throwing his partner an injured look.

"He doesn't need to get involved," the mercenary told him.

"I can't rest easy until you let me in," Raiden pleaded his case.  "I need this.  I don't want there to be any more reasons for children to be placed into battle anymore.  I have to stop all of these power hungry bastards."

"Look kid, I admire your spirit but…"

"But what?  You don't need me?  If I recall, Philanthropy is rather fringe, so I doubt you have recruits lined up outside your door, ready to do what it takes, and possibly lay down their lives for the cause."

Snake sighed, "I don't want your blood on my hands because I let you do something stupid."

Otacon chimed in, "He can make his own decisions, Snake.  I think he knows good and well what he's getting into."

Snake growled again, this time saying nothing.

"So I'm in?" Raiden asked, eyes hopeful.

"Welcome to Philanthropy," Otacon said, extending his hand again.

Raiden shook it, this time with both hands.  "Thank you."

Snake muttered something inaudibly under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest.  Jack could only imagine what it was that was said.

Otacon adjusted his glasses again, "Are you going anywhere important now?"

"No," Raiden replied, "Why?"

"We're headed to a briefing now, for our next mission.  Our only other member, Mei Ling, is making dinner.  Come with us, and we can get you up to date with everything that's been going on," Otacon said.

"I'm already there," Raiden accepted the invitation eagerly.

Author's Notes:

I know absolutely nothing about the geography of New York City.  I've only been there 3 times in my life, so I had to bluff my way through it.


	6. Chapter 6: Preparations I

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 6:  Preparations I

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 6:  Preparations I****

            "You're late, guys," Mei Ling chastised as she gestured for everyone to enter.  She looked over the last person through the door, her eyes admiringly taking in his youthful beauty.

            "Who's he?" the woman asked.

            "This is Raiden," Snake answered, "He's the one I ended up teaming up with at the 'Big Shell'".

            "Oh," she said, "nice to meet you.  I'm Mei Ling."  She blushed as she timidly held out her hand to him.

            Raiden grasped it firmly, shaking it twice.  "You too," he replied.

            "Kid's pretty good in a fight, but he's still wet behind the ears," Snake said with a smirk.

            "Wet behind the ears?" Jack repeated indignantly.

            Mei Ling giggled.  "Don't worry.  Nobody can be as great as the 'Legendary Solid Snake'.  You could be a seasoned pro and still hear that from him."

            She turned to face the mercenary, shaking a finger at him. "Snake, you're so mean!"

            Otacon sat his laptop down on the dining room table, "Shall we get started?"

            "Wait a minute," Dave said holding up a finger, "I need to talk with both of you, alone, first."

            He turned to Raiden, pointing at him.  "You stay here."

            "Okay," Jack said, holding up his hands.

            Snake, Otacon, and Mei Ling went to the bedroom and shut the door.  Snake looked around.

            "You know, I've always wanted to see your bedroom, but I never thought it'd be like this," he said coolly.

            Mei blushed, "Aw, come on.  You're such a flirt."

            "She's right.  He's really turning on the charm tonight," thought Hal.  He found himself blushing at his friend's blunt upfrontness.  If only Otacon could be half as smooth as Dave.

            "Anyways," Otacon said, cutting in, "What'd you need to talk to us about?"

            Sensing his friend was uncomfortable with the situation, he stopped his advances, and got back to the subject at hand.  "I don't trust him."

            "Raiden? Why not?" Hal asked, scratching the back of his head.

            "Yeah.  You worked with him before.  What made you trust him then versus now?" Mei Ling chimed in.

            "I didn't trust him then, either," the mercenary stated.

            "It's hard to find help these days," Otacon offered.  "Especially help that you can depend on."  He shifted his glasses up his nose.  "I'd say that Raiden is the person we could trust most right now."

            "I agree with Otacon," Mei said.

            "Hmm…" Snake mumbled, "That may be so.  But in the end, will it be worth the risk of taking him along?  I'd rather work alone anyways."

            "You may be the 'Great Solid Snake,'" Mei Ling told him, "but you're not the 'Perfect Solid Snake'.  Remember there is strength in numbers."

            Snake rolled his eyes.  Mei and her proverbs.

            "I say we give him a chance," the scientist said, "And if he does anything suspicious, as the founder of Philanthropy, I'll take full responsibility for him."  
            Snake grumbled, "Two against one.  I'm outnumbered here.  Okay, the kid can help, but he'd better…"

            "Stay out of your way?" Otacon interrupted.  "Where have I heard that one before?"

            Dave slapped Hal on the back, and the three went back into the dining room to find Raiden quietly still standing where they had left him.

            Jack threw snake a questioning look, narrowing his eyes a bit.  "You still don't trust me, do you?"

            The mercenary snorted, "It ain't up to me anymore."  He pointed his thumb in the direction of Otacon and Mei Ling.  "It's up to them."  He crossed his arms over his chest again.  "Just know that I'll be watching my back."

            Raiden swallowed hard, then rubbed the red streak on his neck left by the earlier chokehold.  "I know," he told him.  Jack knew that Snake meant business.  It didn't worry him at all though.  He had no intentions of betrayal whatsoever.

            A buzzer went off on the range, and Mei Ling rushed to quiet its annoying sound.  Shutting it off, she opened the door to the oven.  A rich smell filled the room as she pulled out a foil covered tray, and set it down on the potholders on the table.

            "Dinner's ready," she said, running back into the kitchen to get the salad and breadsticks.

            "Lasagna?" Raiden asked scratching his head, "I wasn't expecting that."

            "What were you expecting?" Mei called back, "Pork Chow Mein?"  She giggled.  "I may have Chinese ancestry, but when it comes down to it, I'm all American!"

            Jack blushed at his rash assumptions, then quickly added, "It looks delicious."

            "Mei Ling's an excellent cook," Hal chimed in.

            "But not as good as Otacon!" she returned.  "I still have much to learn."

            Raiden turned to look at the scientist, "Now that's something I never would have guessed about you, Otacon."

            Hal blushed a bit, adjusting his glasses.  "Culinary arts are much like chemistry.  It's almost an exact science.  You have to beat, stir, or add things at just the right times, and cook things at the right temperatures or you end up with a disaster.  Besides, if I left it up to Snake, I'd either end up with boccolism, or glow in the dark from all of the microwaved food."

            Dave let out a low growl, "I don't know about you, Otacon, but I could live off of rations forever."

            Hal sat down at the table and started up his laptop.  The operating system was one he designed himself.  He couldn't stand Microsoft Windows, so being the engineer he was, Otacon took matters into his own hands.  He called it Emmerich Engine, or E.E. for short, after his late sister's nickname.  The E.E. logo popped up on the screen, then disappeared.  It brought up the desktop, which had a picture of an anime samurai plastered across it.

            Snake, who was standing behind him, looked at the screen.  He shook his head, "Otacon and his damned anime," he thought.

            Everything now on the table, and the computer on and ready, Raiden, Mei Ling, and Snake sat down, joining the already seated Otacon.  Raiden and Snake looked at the food hungrily.

            Seeing that her guests were eyeing the food, Mei spoke up, "Go ahead! Dig in!"

            The female information officer reached for the tossed salad first.  Grabbing a healthy portion of lettuce, red onions, radishes, and homemade garlic croutons, she heaped them on her plate.

            "So what's up Otacon?" she asked, initiating the briefing.

            Hal wanted to finish his first bite of lasagna before answering.  The sausage used in the mix was extra spicy, and although very delicious, the light-stomached man knew he was going to pay dearly for it later.  He grabbed himself a glass of ice water from the serving tray and sipped it.  Otacon looked over at Snake and Raiden.  They seemed to be having no trouble at all devouring the fiery spices in Mei Ling's rich lasagna.

            "Alright," he began, adjusting the specs up the bridge of his nose, "I found new intelligence recently about the disappearances of Drs. Anja Raznov and Mikael Chetnik."

            "You mean the ones who came to America a few months ago?" Raiden asked through a mouthful of crispy breadsticks.

            Mei Ling found herself looking at the young man.  "He's even cute when he eats," she thought silently.

            "Yes, the ones who were 'said' to have come to America," Hal corrected him.

            "What do you mean? Are you saying they're not in the States?" Mei Ling probed for confirmation.

            "Precisely," the hacker confirmed, "Here is a document I pulled off of the RNF's network just yesterday."

            "The RNF?" Mei frowned.  "You're probably going to tell us next that they were kidnapped."

            Otacon nodded.  "Affirmative."

            "But then why did the government go out of their way to tell us that they were here?" Jack asked.

            Snake almost choked on his food at the sound of Raiden's question.  He regained control over the food that threatened his windpipe.

            "Kid, are you really that gullible to the media?" he asked, pouring himself a full glass of wine.  "Didn't your run-in with the Patriot spies knock enough sense into ya?"

            "The media is just a big production put on to control the masses," Mei Ling told him.  "You can't believe anything you see."

            Raiden, a bit embarrassed at his gullibility, blushed.

            Hal pointed to certain phrases on the screen.  "See, here it says:  'Dr. Raznov and Dr. Chetnik have been put to work.  They seem to be cooperating now, but I foresee some trouble in the future.'" Skipping down the page a bit, Otacon read on, "'The E. Weapon Project' will be delayed another month due to problems with prototype A.  I personally believe it to be intentional sabotage on Dr. Raznov's part."

            Mei Ling sipped on her wine.  Leaning in, she listened intently on what the hacker had to say.

            "And down here," Otacon pointed to some numbers, "This is the decoded point of transmission."  He paused, brushing stray locks from his eyes.  "It's a position about 400 kilometers SSE of Molodezhnaya, a Russian research outpost in Antarctica."

            "Antarctica?" Jack and Mei chimed in unison.

            "This must be top secret," the woman said, "Any weapons testing, or production is prohibited there under the 'Antarctic Treaty of 1961'."

            "'The Antarctic Treaty of 1961'?" Raiden asked, "What's that?"

            Snake rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Don't you know anything, kid?"

            Otacon sensed that Snake was still annoyed at Raiden's presence in the organization.  "He'll get over it," he thought.

            "'The Antarctic Treaty of 1961' was signed to reserve Antarctica to peaceful scientific research, and to suspend territorial claims," the scientist explained.  "It's totally against the treaty to have any kind of military activities occur any place south of the 60°S latitude line."

            "I see," Raiden said, grabbing another breadstick.

            "Radical groups never follow the rules anyways," Snake added.  "You think that they'd let something so trivial as a treaty stop them?"

            "I guess not," Jack agreed.  He felt it best just to sit and listen silently from that point on.  His naïveté was causing a great embarrassment.

            "So how do we go from here?" Mei Ling asked.

            Otacon shifted his glasses, "It isn't going to be easy, but we'll have to hitch a ride."

            Snake's eyes narrowed a bit, "Here's where all the fun starts."

            Hal gave Snake an apologizing look.  "Sorry, it's the only way."

            He brought up some information with a few quick keystrokes.  "This is the Russian Antarctic Research Team's shuttle."

             Mei glanced at the picture across the table.  "Looks more like a submarine to me," she said, grabbing a slice of lasagna.

            "Right," Otacon confirmed.  "It's the quickest and most inconspicuous way to Molodezhnaya.  The submarine carries members of the RART twice a year to the outpost.  Fortunately for us, the next departure is scheduled for June 30th."

            "Hmm…" Snake pondered, "that only gives us two weeks to get everything together."

Dave used his breadstick to wipe up the remaining sauce on his plate.  He stuffed it down, barely taking time to chew.  It tasted so good, though Snake had to admit, Otacon's lasagna was a bit richer; just less spicy."

"Twice a year…  So, how do we get back?" he asked.

"The submarine travels back to Russia after taking a three day rest at the outpost.  That'll be barely long enough of a window to get you in, investigate the new weapon, dispose of it, then return in time to catch your ride back." Hal explained.

"So, how do you intend to pull this off?" Mei Ling asked.

"Snake, Raiden and I will disguise ourselves as…"

"Wait a sec!" Mei exclaimed, nearly jumping from her chair, "Did I hear you right?"

Otacon, forgetting that he hadn't told her or Raiden that he was going, he explained, "Yeah.  I'm going in."

"Are you crazy?" Mei Ling asked.

She turned to face the mercenary, her eyes wide with disbelief.  "Snake? Are you listening to this?"

Snake leaned back in his chair, finished with eating and full.  "I already heard this earlier and I already tried to talk him out of it.  He's too damned stubborn to listen."

"And you agreed?"

"No," Dave sighed, "More like gave in.  He has his reasons, so I guess I'll have to respect them."

Raiden looked annoyed.  "You'd work better by yourself, huh?"  Jack folded his arms over his chest.

Snake retorted, "Look, Raiden.  It's bad enough that I have to baby-sit my partner here.  Now I'll have to baby-sit you too.  Makes my job even more difficult to do."

"I can take care of myself," Jack came back indignantly.

Mei Ling giggled.  "It looks like Otacon'll be the one babysitting the two of you!"

Otacon said nothing, and blushed.  He sat there nervously stirring at the remainder of sauce and sausage bits on his plate with his fork.

"Anyways.  Otacon, if you want to go, I guess there's no stopping you if even Snake couldn't manage to.  I just hope that you don't get yourself killed," Mei said.

Hal nodded, then reached for his untouched glass of wine.  He took a healthy gulp, then placed it back down beside his plate.

Snake flicked his lighter.  It was all he could do to keep from smoking in Mei's apartment.  He knew that he was going to have to take a break soon.  His nerves were just about shot.

"So, you were saying about the submarine?" he began the conversation again.

"Ah, right," Hal said.  "The three of us will have to pose as RART scientists, and take the submarine from Russia to Molodezhnaya.  Then, from there, we'll stowaway on a RNF transport to the base."

Otacon brought up another document on his computer screen.  "The RNF has had the same idea for awhile now.  They've been running their operation, passing through Molodezhnaya, posing as scientists so as not to raise any suspicions with their presence in Antarctica.  If we go the exact same route that they do, then we should blend in just fine."

"There's a problem, Otacon," Snake said.  "My Russian is extremely bad and I doubt that the kid here has had time in his busy schedule to learn any himself."

"Hey!" Raiden spoke up.  "Quit calling me kid!"  He pointed to himself with his thumb.  "My name's Jack."

"Jack?  I suppose that I never really asked you your name," Snake recalled.

"I don't know your name either," the blonde came back.

"Name's aren't important on a battlefield," Snake said plainly.

"We're at Mei Ling's place," Jack stated.

"It's Dave," Hal told him.

Snake threw Otacon a look, his eyes burning mad.

Otacon fidgeted nervously.  "My responsibility, remember?" He swallowed hard, pushing his fear of repercussions to the pit of his stomach.

Snake's stare softened a bit.  He trusted his friend's judgment.  He nodded in his direction, letting him know that he wasn't going to gut him for disclosing his identity.  If it came down to it though, he'd gut Raiden in a heartbeat if he even thought the kid would betray him. 

Hal gulped down the rest of his wine, then poured himself another glass with the remainder of the bottle.  The slender man began to drink the second glass, letting the red liquid relax him.  The events of the past two days had really shot his nerves.

Otacon was not a drinker.  He'd rarely touch anything alcoholic, save for the occasional glass of wine or one beer with Snake socially.  Alcohol did a number on him due to his slight build, and sometimes a single beer or glass of wine was enough to make his lips tingle.

Dave took notice to his friend's second glass.  "He's in bad shape," he thought to himself.

"Anyways," Mei Ling said, "Snake's right.  The only one of the three of you with any Russian skills is Otacon."

"Well, actually," he corrected, "I'm rather rusty myself.  It's been a long time since I even tried speaking Russian, but I can still read it."

"So how do we deal with the language issue?" Snake asked.

"I knew this issue might come up so, I brought this," Otacon said holding up a small triangular shaped piece of metal.

"What's that?" Raiden asked.

"It's a Real-Time Translating Synthesizer," the scientist explained shifting his spectacles.  "It's something that I've been working on for awhile now.  It works directly with your nanomachines to accurately translate your speech as you are speaking.  It also listens to the foreign languages around you, and relays a real-time translation to your brain transmitted directly by the nanomachines."

Hal stood up, then walked over to Jack.  "Open your mouth," he instructed the young man.  Raiden opened his mouth wide and Otacon took a set of long surgical tweezers from his lab coat pocket.  Gripping the RTTS device in them, he stuck it deep into Raiden's throat.  He gagged a bit as the intrusive metal toyed with his reflex.  He felt a slight pinch as something punctured his skin, but the pain subsided quickly.  The device in place, Otacon removed his tweezers.

"_Ouch!  What did you do to me?_" cried Raiden in perfect Russian.

Mei Ling gasped.  "Otacon, that's amazing!  You've actually mapped out the electrical impulses in the part of the brain that produces speech."

"Actually, I wrote a computer program that recognizes and analyzes those impulses.  I spoke to the program, and it went from there.  With all of the data collected, I was able to create the RTTS."

"Hal," Snake said, "you're pure genius."

"_How do I deactivate this thing?_" Raiden asked, clearly boggled with his perfect understanding of the strange words coming from his mouth.

"Ah," Otacon said, understanding him, "Just picture the phrase 'switch-normal' and it should relay the instructions to deactivate the device through your nanomachines."

Jack did as he was told.  "Testing," came out the word in English.

"And it works for French, Spanish, Japanese, and German too," Hal added.  "I'm working on Portuguese and Arabic now, but we won't need any of those right now.  If you need to reactivate it, just think the phrase 'switch-Russian' and it'll switch back."

"Understood," Jack acknowledged.

"I'll implant yours when we get back home, Snake," Otacon said.

The mercenary stood up, grabbing his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.  "I need a break," he said.  "We'll work out all of the details when I get back."  Snake stepped out onto Mei's balcony and shut the sliding glass door behind him.

Hal looked behind him at his partner on the balcony.  He was casually leaning on the railing, smoking his cigarette.

"Excuse me for a minute," Otacon said.  Getting up out of his chair, he walked out onto the balcony and re-slid the door shut.

Neither man said anything for a good while.  They just stood there looking out at the lights of Manhattan.  The night air was cool, but just warm enough to be welcoming.

Snake finished off his cigarette with one last, long drag.  Blowing the smoke out, he flicked the butt and watched it fall four stories to the sidewalk below.

"I'm sorry," Otacon said, the first one to speak.  He looked at the ground, shuffling his feet a bit.

"Forget about it," Snake returned, seeing that his friend was upset.  He patted him on the back.  "Relax will ya? You look like Hell."

"I know," Hal acknowledged, "It's just the mission and all."

"You sure you're up to it?" the other asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah.  I'm sure," the scientist answered, blatantly lying.

"You know, you don't have to do this.  I can handle this by myself, plus now I have Raiden to help," Snake said.

"No," Otacon told him with his eyes still glued to the ground, "It won't be the same.  I have to be there too.  I don't know how I'll be of any help, but I've got to try.  Like I said, I'll do anything it takes."

The mercenary nodded.  His final attempt at changing his friend's mind had failed.

"Come on.  Let's go finish up the briefing, then we'll go home.  You need your sleep if you're going to be up for any kind of preparations."

"Fair enough," Otacon agreed.

The two men walked back inside to find Raiden and Mei Ling laughing hysterically.  There was a new, larger bottle of wine on the table, and it was well tapped.

"You're so funny, Jack," Mei giggled, her face a bit flushed.

Snake and Otacon wondered what was going on.

"Oh, hey guys!" she called over to them, "Check this out!"

"Aw come on Mei," Raiden protested.

"Please!  Just one more time," the woman pleaded.

Jack sighed.  "Alright."

The young man began to sing "The House that Jack Built" by Metallica.  The first line came out normal, but then each consecutive line he switched his RTTS to a different language.  It sounded like a jumbled mess of incoherent gibberish, but in reality, each line was perfectly translated back and forth between the six different languages.

Mei Ling giggled with delight over this awesome display, which was complete with head-bangs and air-guitar.

"Looks like he's gotten the hang of your device," Snake pointed out, letting out a small chuckle himself.

"Well, at least we know the other languages are functioning normally," Otacon said.

Snake sat back down.  "Pass me the wine, will ya?"

Mei handed Dave the bottle.  There was just enough left for one more glass.  The mercenary finished it off, pouring the rest for himself and placing the bottle back on the table.

"So, where do we go from here?" Snake asked, emptying his glass into his stomach.

Raiden stopped singing.  He could tell that everyone wanted to wrap things up.

"Well," Otacon said, "That's about all I can say right now."  He shut down his computer.  "I'll have to hold off on the specifics, until I gather more info.  We'll make a tentative date for next Wednesday to get back together and finalize our strategy."

Hal shifted his glasses, "Until then, Mei, I want you to keep your eyes out for anything that might pop up at you," Otacon said, handing her a CD-R of encryption keys and RNF documentation.

"Will do, boss," she acknowledged with a salute.

Dave stood up, "We'll be in touch.  You got a phone number, Raiden?"

Jack shook his head, "Not yet.  I just moved in so…"

"Leave your codec on.  We'll give you a call," Snake said.

Raiden frowned a bit, "Don't you get any ideas of ditching me either!"

"If he won't call you, I will," Otacon offered, stepping in.

"Alright," the young man replied.

"Later Mei," said Snake, blowing her a kiss and heading for the exit.

Otacon grabbed his laptop and followed his friend to the door.

"See ya," the scientist said with a wave.

"Bye guys," the woman called after them.

The door shut leaving Mei Ling and Raiden still seated at the table.  They sat there for a moment silently.  Jack scanned the room, eyes stopping to focus on a deck of cards he had seen sitting out earlier.

"So, how are you at Poker?" he asked.

Author's Notes:

Molodezhnaya is a real Russian base in Antarctica.  Found it on a map through Encarta.

"The Antarctic Treaty of 1961" is a true bit of history.  Check it out online or in an encyclopedia!

The RTTS is my "creative" way of dealing with the fact that I know no Russian whatsoever.  Hehehehehehehe….  All italicized text shows that another language is being spoken/written.

Ah, yes.  Metallica.  They kick butt! J  Plus, that song had "Jack" in its title.  I pulled a Kojima!


	7. Chapter 7: Training

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 7:  Training

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 7:  Training

            "Come on.  It isn't going to bite you," Snake said, holding out his M9 to Otacon.  "It'll be loaded with tranquilizer rounds.  You won't have to kill anyone."

            Hal's hands trembled as he eyed the gun.  He hated guns and always left their handling to Snake.  Even if it was only to pick them up off of the floor, he could never bring himself to touch one.

            "I don't know, Snake," he said nervously, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

            The mercenary smiled.  "Good.  You've finally come to your senses."

            "No.  I don't mean about the mission," Otacon told him, "I mean, about…that."  He pointed to at the M9, hands still shaking.

            Dave let out a heavy sigh.  So, his friend was still stubborn on the subject of going along.  The one glimmer of hope that Hal would chicken out, had faded quickly into the dark.

            "Look, Otacon.  You said you'd do whatever it takes," Snake reminded him.  "You're going to need to learn how to defend yourself."

            The flighty scientist's shaking calmed a bit.  Snake was right.  He had promised him that he'd do whatever was necessary to prepare for the mission.  If he was going to do this for his friend, he was going to have to gather some courage.

            He timidly held out his hand, and Snake gently placed the M9 in it.  The shiny, black metal felt cool and smooth, and surprisingly lightweight.  Otacon stared at it with increased curiosity.

            "Now," Snake said, positioning himself behind his student, "hold it firmly, with both hands, like this."  He positioned his hands over Hal's, pulling his body in close against the engineer's back.

            Otacon found himself blushing at the close contact with his friend.

            The trained soldier manually adjusted Otacon's stance, spreading his legs apart.  "Keep your feet apart a bit.  You'll get a better shot off that way."  With his arms resting on Hal's shoulders, Snake helped him aim the gun.

            Otacon felt a wave of heat run up his spine and across his face.  He began to sweat, making it difficult to grip the gun with his clammy palms.  He felt a hand push on his hips.

            "Hips should be straight but relaxed," Dave instructed.

            Hal relaxed his body, the best he could.  He found himself subconsciously pressing himself harder into Snake's body.  His friend's presence empowered him with the strength to look down the sight of the barrel.

            "Now squeeze the trigger gently to activate the laser sight."

            Otacon did as he was told.  He swallowed down a lump of nerves that had quickly built up in his throat, as the little red dot appeared on the head of the target in front of him.

            "Alright, Hal, shoot!" Dave ordered.

            The man hesitated, finding a lot of things distracting him:  the realization that he was holding a gun, the thought of firing, the heat of Snake's breath at his neck.  His trembling intensified.

            "Damn it, Hal, I said shoot!" Snake ordered him.

            The engineer fired the M9, releasing the dart.  It hit the shoulder of the target, far off from the head in which he had meant to hit.

            The mercenary released his grip on his friend.  He shook his head.  "You can't hesitate like that.  You'll get yourself killed."

            "I'm sorry.  I panicked," Otacon replied.

            "One moment of panic on the battlefield is enough to mean the difference between life and death.  Why don't we just forget the whole thing, and leave this to me and Raiden?" Snake said.

            Otacon looked down at the ground and adjusted his glasses.  "Please Snake.  I want to help.  Help me help you."

            Dave let out a sigh, then conceded.  "Alright."

            He positioned himself again behind his friend, helping him to aim the gun.  He made a few last adjustments to Hal's stance, then gripped around his partner's hands tight.

            "Shoot!" the soldier ordered.

            Otacon squeezed the trigger on command, and this time, hit a lot closer to the mark.

            "Better," Snake said, "but you need to watch the recoil.  You keep letting your aim get thrown off."

            Otacon felt the warmth of his partner leave his back.  He turned to face him.  "Thanks," Hal said handing the gun over.

            "Eh, give it some time," Dave told him, putting an arm around the other's shoulder, "It'll come to you when you least expect it."  He tousled the tidy man's hair.

            "Hey!" Hal said, laughing a bit.  He tugged Snake's bandana hard, causing Snake's head to throw back.

            "Oh, ya wanna play rough now?" the mercenary taunted.

            Otacon began to run through the endless halls of the VR program.  "Gotta catch me first."

            Snake began the chase.  Otacon was pretty fast, but Dave's body was much more athletic, and he soon caught up to him.  He grabbed the slender, almost weightless man by the waist and threw him over his shoulder.

            The engineer, draped over his friend, tried to free himself from Solid Snake's grasp, but only ended up being dropped to the floor.  He rubbed his now bruised rear.

            The two men laughed, then ended the VR program.  It was nice to see Otacon in good spirits again.

***

            "What're you working on?" Snake asked, grabbing a handful of Doritos, and shoving them into his mouth.

            There were all sorts of materials and electronics laid out neatly in piles around the worktable in Otacon's room.  He was sitting, hunched over a large assembled heap in the center.

            The scientist paused, looking up from what he was doing.  "Oh, hey.  I didn't see you come in."

            He held up his unfinished work.  "It's a new sneaking suit."

            Laying it down, he rolled his chair over to his computer.  Punching some keys, he brought up the desired file.  "These are the schematics," Hal said, gesturing for Snake to have a look.

            The mercenary came over and leaned in, looking at the screen over Hal's shoulder.  He crunched on a few more chips as he read.

            Otacon reached into the bag in Snake's hand, taking a few Doritos for himself.  "This suit is more advanced than your previous suits.  It's designed to thoroughly insulate the body, while generating heat to ensure that nothing freezes."  He pointed to a small circular spot on the back of the suit.  "This is the thermostat.  It constantly monitors the body temperature of its wearer while calculating the minimum amount of heat needed to maintain 37 degrees Celsius.  It's quite energy efficient."  Hal pushed his glasses up his nose, then brought up another page of schematics.  "If for some reason the heater ceases to function properly, I installed a fallback measure.  These are the adrenal gland stimulators.  They stimulate the flow of adrenaline to a level just short of dangerous.  If you have too much adrenaline in your bloodstream, it could cause cardiac arrest.  The purpose of the adrenaline is to speed up your heart.  It's hard to freeze a flowing river, so if your blood moves faster, it'll be harder to freeze as well."

            "That makes sense," Snake said, forcing another handful of Doritos into his mouth.  "How's the suit affect mobility?"

            "Well, it's like your other sneaking suits.  It hugs your body tight so as to minimize bleeding and damage to your vital organs," the scientist explained.  "I guess that the major difference between this suit and the others is this over-layer."  He pointed to the darker section of the torso.  "This is extra protection, as well as a bullet proof vest.  It'll hold up to an average handgun, but it won't do you any good against an AK or FA-MAS.  It also provides extra heat, pressure, and support to your chest and groin."

            Hal reached up for some more chips, but Snake retracted the bag.  "Get your own!" He teased, offering the bag back to him.

            Otacon grabbed a few chips and ate them one by one, careful to make sure not to get too much of the orange cheese powder on his fingers.

            "So I guess I'm almost finished making your suit, since I already have your measurements.  After you test it out, then I'll work out the bugs and begin construction on Raiden's and my suits."

            Snake gave Hal a wry smile.

            "What?  What is it?" the engineer inquired, knowing that look.

            "I was just thinking about how odd it'll be to see you out of your lab coat, and into a sneaking suit.  It's just so… weird."

            Otacon let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, I know.  But, I'll be right there with you guys, so I'll need to keep warm too."

            "Did you fix the stealth camo yet?" Snake asked.

            Hal shook his head, "No.  Not yet.  I need to go get some parts.  The power unit's been totally fried."

            Snake looked over his friend.  He still looked tired, and the fact that Otacon was rubbing his temples more than confirmed that.  The pale scientist sat in his chair, seeming ready to fall asleep at any moment.  But Snake knew that he was at least going to finish the suit that he had already started on before finally going to bed.  Dave knew that convincing him to go to sleep now would be a tiring effort, so he decided to offer some assistance instead.

            "Is there anything that I can do for ya?" he asked.

            "No.  Thanks.  I'm alright."  Hal politely declined.

            Snake almost forgot the fact that his accommodating friend would never outright ask anything of him.  So, the mercenary would have to think of something to do for Otacon himself.

            "I'll go brew up some coffee," he said, patting Hal's shoulder.

            "Oh, thank you," his friend replied, rolling his chair back over to the table.  He indeed intended to get that suit finished, and coffee sounded really good right about now.

***

            After two pots of coffee, and the rest of Snake's bag of Doritos, Otacon laid his tools down and held up the finished suit in triumph.  "I did it!" he shouted excitedly.  He called for his friend, "Snake!  Come check it out."

            The mercenary came into Hal's room with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  He took a few draws from it before reaching back to lay it down in an ashtray that was on the end table just outside of the doorway.  He glanced over the suit thoughtfully.

            "Well, what'cha think?" Otacon prompted.

            "Hmm…" Snake said, looking it over one more time, "It's a little bulkier than I'm used to, but I like it."

            "Try it on," the engineer said eagerly, handing his partner the sneaking suit.

            "I thought we were gonna save the testing for tomorrow," he returned.  "You need your sleep."

            "I know," Otacon said, shifting his specs once again, "but I'm just too anxious to see how it works."

            Snake could see the almost child-like eagerness in Hal Emmerich's hazel eyes.  It shined brightly through even the lenses of his glasses.  Those glasses that the man always hid behind could not hid any bit of the pride that he was feeling right then.

            "Alright," Snake agreed, lifting his black t-shirt up over his head.  He slipped if off, letting it hit the floor.  He moved to untie the drawstrings in his gray-black sweatpants.

            Otacon found himself staring at Snake's hard, chiseled chest.  He blushed feverously, turning his head before Dave could catch him looking.  "Oh, d-do you have to do that h-here?" Hal stammered.

            Snake threw his friend a questioning look.  "Huh?  Oh I'll pick them up.  I know you like to keep your room neat," he said misinterpreting Otacon's embarrassment.

            Hal allowed himself one more glance at his partner.  His pants were now tossed aside, and he was standing there naked, trying to figure out how to put on the sneaking suit.

            Otacon's eyes looked over Snake admiringly as his cheeks shifted to a darker shade of crimson.

            "Well," the mercenary said, "don't just sit there.  Help me with this!"

He mumbled to himself as he searched the suit.  His friend really constructed it well:  the seams were invisible, and the suit itself was streamlined.  But where the Hell was the damned opening?

The scientist cleared his mind by shaking his head and walked over to where Dave stood.  He took the sneaking suit from his hands and removed the over-layer, setting it aside.  Unfastening the main part of the suit, he handed it back to Snake.

"This goes on first," Hal explained.

Snake placed his legs in the leg holes, and pulled the suit up his rippled body.  The tight fit of the under-layer didn't leave much to the imagination about how well built Solid Snake really was.  His body lines were deep and smooth, giving him a perfect shape.

Otacon helped his friend fasten the suit up in the back.  It came clear up his neck, almost choking him.  It took a moment for Snake to adjust to the pressure.

Next, Hal placed the over-layer on Dave.  It was shaped like fencer's armor, except it had raised pads on the shoulders.  Kneeling before Snake, Otacon fastened it securely over his groin, and between his legs.

Snake grabbed the elbow and knee guards, and slipped them on.  The padding was thick and rather sturdy on his joints.  He tested their weight by bending his limbs a few times.  Dave then slipped on the boots.  They were heavily insulated, and they hugged his feet comfortably.

"Well?" Snake asked.  "How do I look?"

Hal eyed his friend thoughtfully.  He looked powerful, but the scientist thought that would sound stupid.  He had to think of something else to describe his friend's indescribable appearance.

"You look…like the Legend," he answered.

Suddenly remembering something, Otacon went over to the table, picking up a headpiece.  It resembled somewhat like a ski mask, except there was a perforated piece of material over where the mouth would be, and a hard, clear shield to protect the eyes.  "I almost forgot.  Here's your headgear," Hal said.

Snake slipped it on over his head, pulling it down over his face.  He turned to face himself in the mirror on the back of Otacon's door.  Dave looked at his reflection, chuckling to himself.

"It's great," he told his friend.  "I don't know if I've ever told you before, but you're truly a genius."

Hal blushed again, nervously scratching the back of his head.  "Yeah… You have… Thanks," he said simply, not able to accept his friend's praise well.  A man like Snake had nothing to praise a person like him for, he thought.

Solid Snake held up his index finger.  "Wait a minute.  It's missing something."

He went into the living room, and when he returned, Dave was tying his bandana around his head.  "There.  Now it's complete."

Otacon nodded in agreement.  "I'll go fire up the VR.  I wrote a new sub-zero climate survival program.  It accurately simulates the sensation of the temperatures around you, and calculates those effects on your movement and performance."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" Snake said.

"Alright," the engineer said, collecting a mass of wires and electrodes, "it's ready to go."

Grabbing his Socom, Snake stood in front of the line of tall, cabinet-type computers.  Otacon attached the sensors in the proper spots along his partner's forehead, temples, chest, spine, and legs.

When everything was in place, Snake found himself on an outdoor battlefield.  The snowdrifts and glaciers were so accurately simulated, that he felt as if he was there already.  The air smelled cool and fresh as it would on a winter's night.  "Otacon didn't miss a single detail," he thought, admiring the engineering genius of his friend.

Solid Snake's senses were alerted to the sound of crunching snow nearby.  He quickly ducked down behind the nearest snowdrift and peered out.  There, in the distance, were three soldiers patrolling the area.  They carried AKs, and marched in a tight formation.

He drew his gun and crawled along the ground on his belly, slithering like his codename implied.  The mercenary got up on his knees, pressing his back against a slightly taller snowdrift.  He moved to its edge, listening and waiting.

Before the soldiers even had time to scream, Dave had already disposed of them with a quick jump shot to each of their heads.

"You 'warmed up' now, Snake?" came Otacon's voice in his ear.

Hidden behind his mask, he smiled.  "Is that supposed to be a pun?"

Hal chuckled, "Of course!  You know me."

The two men laughed.

"So what's next?" Snake asked loading a new clip, and cocking the gun.

"How about something a little more challenging?" Otacon asked, bringing up the next part of the program.

"You're on!"


	8. Chapter 8: Dreams and Goodbyes

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 8:  Dreams and Goodbyes

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for mild violence (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 8:  Dreams and Goodbyes

            Jack lay on his belly, with his face in the dirt.  He clutched his gun tight, ready to shoot at the first thing to move.  He couldn't see anything through all of the gun smoke and the setting sun right at eye level.  His heart raced with fear and anticipation.  Jack had to survive, somehow.

            Screams in the distance rang in his ears.  He crawled up closer to the shrub that was his cover.  Surely that was another of his comrades dead.  It gave him a sick feeling to his already aching, empty stomach.

            Looking to his right, he could make out another figure.  The person was approximately the same size as Jack, so he knew it had to be someone from his side.  He crawled quickly to cover beside her.

            "Jack," she yelled over the sound of machine guns, "We're surrounded!"

            "I know," he replied.  "I guess this is it."

            The girl grabbed onto his arm.  Jack looked down at her.  She had shiny, blue-black hair, and when the sunlight reflected off of it, it had an almost liquid shimmer.  Jack always thought that his battle partner's hair was so beautiful.

            "I don't want to fight anymore," she sobbed, blue-violet eyes blazing behind a wall of tears.  "I'm going to end this now!"

            She got to her feet, rifle in hand, and charged right into the crossfire.

            "Wait!" Jack screamed out as he watched her fade away into the smoke.  "Diane!"

***

            Raiden's eyes suddenly flew open.  It took him a moment to realize where he was.  He was in his new apartment, safe and sound.  Jack sighed in relief.

            His body was slick with sweat, and it ran down his face in streams.  He wiped it away, then rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. 

            "Damn," he muttered under his breath, "Another one of those God damned dreams."

            He had nightmares often of his day as a child soldier.  All were quite disturbing, but the ones about Diane were the ones that really got to him.

            She, like Jack, was a child soldier; horribly abused and forced into combat.  The girl was his friend, and they had comforted each other during those times of hopelessness and despair.  On that one day that haunted Jack's dreams, Diane had decided that enough was enough, and charged in on a suicide run as a final effort to protect her best friend, and end her own suffering in the process.

            Jack survived that battle, and many others.  He was an adult now, and had a child of his own.  He wished that she would have allowed herself a chance at the same.  That way, at least, they could have dealt with their terrifying pasts together.

            Raiden turned his head to look at the picture of Iroquois next to his makeshift bed.  At least, he had the power to fight for his son, so that he would grow, go to school, and raise a family one day.  On the rare occasion that Jack had a good dream, it was usually about Iroquois growing up to make him proud.  It was a dream that he clung to dearly.

            Raiden sat up, yawning and stretching.  He looked over at the clock.  It was 7:20.  Deciding to get an early start on his day, he got up and walked over to his still unpacked suitcases.  He pulled himself out some fresh clothes and a fresh towel, then set them on the bathroom counter.

            Jack turned on the hot water in the shower first, letting it run until it heated up.  He removed his boxers and tossed them into the living area.  Testing the water, he turned on the cold until the water was a cool room temperature.  Raiden stepped in, letting the cool water rinse the sweat from his body.

            "It's Wednesday," Jack thought to himself, "Otacon should be getting in contact with me sometime today."

            The past week had quickly passed by.  The time to go into battle again was near.  He was going to have to say goodbye to his son.  Jack hoped, however, that they would not be permanent goodbyes.

***

            Raiden cringed as he rang the doorbell to Rose's apartment.  He wanted to avoid dealing with her all together, but seeing Iroquois one last time before he left was more important than evading an uncomfortable confrontation with his ex-girlfriend.

            He waited patiently as he heard footsteps approaching the door.  The bolts clicked, and Rose opened the door, baby in arms.

            "Hello Jack," she said simply, but with a bit of sadness in her tone.

            "Rosemary," he returned, using her full name to get the point across that this was not a reconciling visit.

            Raiden reached out and picked up Iroquois.  He cradled him tight.  "Hi big boy!" his daddy told him, "Did you miss me?"

            The baby looked up at Jack, cooing in response.

            "I'll take that as a yes," Raiden said.  He rocked Iroquois as he stepped into the place in which he used to live.

            The apartment was just as he left it.  None of the things he had left behind had been touched.  It was as if Rose was anticipating his return.  He shook his head:  not a chance.

            The platinum blond haired man went into the nursery and sat in the rocking chair.  He looked deep into his son's eyes.  He pulled the boy in closer, whispering into his ear, "I'll come back.  I have to do something important.  You give me strength, Iroquois and you'll keep me alive.  I'll have to come back, for you."

            A familiar beeping in his ear interrupted Raiden's train of thought.  "Oh great.  Now what?" he thought to himself.

            Rose now came to stand in the doorway.

            "Take Iroquois," Jack told her, "I have to go to the bathroom."

            Handing the baby to his mother, Raiden went into the bathroom and shut the door.  He answered the codec.  The frequency of the call was coming in at 141.12.

            "What's up, Otacon?"

            "You still have my frequency saved?" asked the engineer.

            "Of course," Jack answered, "Though it never did me any good until now.  You never had your codecs on when I was trying to get in contact with the two of you."

            "Ah, well, we try to keep all nanocommunications brief and to a minimum, even with a burst transmission," Hal Emmerich explained.  "We usually shut them down immediately after the codec is no longer needed."

            "So what's going on with today?" Jack asked.

            "We're meeting up at Mei Ling's again at 1800.  I figured that would be the best since you already know your way there."

            "Got it."  Raiden allowed himself a smile, "I had a feeling that it was going to be you who called, and not Snake.  He still pissed at me?"

            "No, but I wasn't going to push the issue by having him be the one to get in contact with you.  I figured it'd be best to do it myself," Hal said, "He's still upset with me though."

            Jack nodded, "That night at Mei's… I've seen that look in a person's eyes before."  He paused for a moment, remembering his own motives, "I'm sure you have your reasons."

            A knock came at the door, "Jack?  You okay in there?"

            "Oh shit! Gotta go.  See ya tonight."

            Raiden switched off his codec, then made a few verbal groans, feigning pain, "Unh!  Yeah, Rose.  Just some stomach trouble, that's all."

            "There's some Pepto Bismal left over in the medicine cabinet if you need it," she offered.

            "I remember," he returned, "I used to live here."

            Raiden rummaged through the medicine cabinet to make it sound as if he were getting himself the bottle.  He got it out and licked some of the pink liquid out of the cap so his breath would smell like it.  He flushed the toilet, spraying some air freshener.  That way, Rose would not be suspicious at the absence of stench when he opened the door.

            Jack left the bathroom and went into the kitchen.  Rose was busy sterilizing the baby's bottles and parts to her breast pump.

            "Where's Iroquois?" Jack asked.

            Rosemary stirred the pot of boiling bottles, then tapped the spoon a few times on the side to shake off the excess water.  Drying her hands on the dish towel, she turned to face her ex.

            "He was getting fussy, so I put him down for a nap."

            "I see," Raiden said.  "Well I guess I'll be going."

            He turned to leave, hands in the pockets of his jeans, head tilted slightly towards the floor.  He was hoping that he'd make it out the door without having any other words spoken, but…

            "Are you really that cruel?"

            "Oh, God.  Here we go again," thought Jack.  He stopped, sighing a bit as he dared to ask, "What do you mean?"

            Rose's eyes started to tear up.  "Can you really just walk out that door and not say anything to me?  Don't you feel anything for me anymore?"

            Jack sighed again, forcefully blowing the air out.  "It's just easier to walk away then to try and pretend that everything is okay and that nothing bad ever happened between us.  I don't know how, even after all you've put me through, I still care about you.  But, it's too hard to let those feelings mingle with all of the others."

            Rose raised her eyebrow in query, "What other feelings are you talking about?"

            "Anger, sadness, uncertainty, betrayed… and that's just the tip of the iceberg," he answered.  Jack looked back at her, his cool, blue eyes radiating every one of those emotions that he had just listed and more.  Then, without another word, he left, shutting the door behind him.

***

            Rose's codec rang in her ear.  She sat down on the couch and answered it.

            "Are you sure?" she answered the voice.  Rosemary frowned a bit.

            "Yes.  I'll come."

Author's Notes:

Jack and Diane:  another "Kojimaism".  I couldn't resist.  Anyone here like that song?


	9. Chapter 9: Preparations II

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 9:  Preparations II

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 9:  Preparations II

            Mei Ling was surprised with a bouquet of red-violet roses when she answered the door.

            "These are for me?  Oh, thank you, Jack!"

            "It's the least I could do for you after you stuck up for me last week.  Also, for letting me crash here.  That wine really knocked me for a loop."

            Mei snickered, "It's okay.  I've never played 'Drunken Poker' before, but it looks like I had some natural talent!"

            Raiden smiled, "You kicked my butt, that's for sure."

            The two laughed, then Mei Ling gestured for Jack to enter.  Mei went into the kitchen and opened the cabinet underneath the sink.  She pulled out a clear-green, glass vase and filled it with water.

            "Hey Raiden?  Would you get me the Aspirin?  It's on the bathroom sink."

            Jack went and got the bottle.  "Are you okay?" he asked.

            "Oh yeah.  I'm fine," Mei answered.  "It's not for me."  She crushed a few of the pills and dropped the white powder into the water in the vase.  "It's for them."

            "Aspirin for flowers?" Raiden questioned, scratching his head in confusion, "What does that do?"

            Mei Ling cut the ends of the stems off at a slant, then placed the bouquet of fresh roses into the vase.  "If you put Aspirin in the water, the flowers live longer.  Just a florist's secret.  My mother did gardening as a hobby and she always had fresh cut flowers in the house."

            Jack nodded.  "So, I did alright then, in getting you roses instead of chocolates?"

            Closing her eyes, Mei leaned over to inhale the flowers' fragrance.  "They're beautiful.  But, you know, you didn't have to get me anything," she told him.

            Raiden looked around.  "So, Snake and Otacon aren't here yet?"

            Mei Ling shook her head.  "Uh uh.  You're early.  It's only 5 o'clock."

            "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to intrude," Jack apologized.

            "No.  No.  It's okay!" the woman assured him, waving her hands in front of her, "I was getting bored anyways, sitting around, waiting.  I like your company."

            She smiled, looking at him.  "He's got beautiful, blue eyes," Mei thought to herself.  She blushed a bit, finding it harder by the second to maintain eye contact.  So, she looked down at her feet, shuffling them a bit.

            "Oh how rude of me!" the host remembered.  "Please, sit down wherever you like."

            "Thanks," Jack said, finding a comfortable seat on Mei Ling's couch.

            "Would you like anything?" the woman offered.

            "No.  I'm good," Raiden declined.

            Mei smiled again.  "He's so polite, too," she thought.

            The blond haired man patted the cushion beside him and Mei Ling sat down.  "So, what've you been up to this past week?"

            The woman brushed her shoulder-length black hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ears.  "Lots of things," she began.  "I've been working on improving the radar system.  I think I've found a method to help keep it from getting jammed so easily."

            "Really?" Jack said.  "Wow.  If we didn't have to worry about jamming, we'd have a great advantage over our enemy."

            "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," she replied.  "It's not a failsafe method.  There are still ways that the radar can be put offline."  Mei Ling sighed, a bit disappointed with herself.

            Jack placed his hand on top of hers, "Hey, don't worry about that.  You did your best.  I can't wait to see how it works."

            "You're sweet," Mei told him.  She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  Getting up from the couch, Mei went to the kitchen, pulling out plates, forks, knives and cups.  She set them neatly on the table for herself and her three guests.

            Raiden, still seated where he was, reached up and touched his cheek where the beautiful lady had kissed him.  He smiled as a light pink blush came over his face.

            "So, what kind of cuisine is our 'Five Star Chef' making tonight?" he asked her.

            Mei Ling giggled with delight, "'Five Star Chef'?  Okay, Jack.  If you say so."  She shook her head, "No. I'm not cooking tonight.  Snake said that he was going to get some pizza."

            As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.  "Looks like that's them," Mei Ling said as she went to answer it.

            "Hello, honey!  Are you the one who ordered a pizza with a side order of Snake?"

            "Oh, Snake!" Mei said, smacking him on the arm, "Get in here."

            Otacon stood quietly behind his partner, blushing with embarrassment.  "Hi, Mei," he greeted her.

            The two men stepped in, laying their stuff on the dining room table.  Raiden walked over to join them.

            "Hi, Snake.  Hi, Otacon," he said simply.

            "Hey, kid.  You're early." Dave replied.

            Raiden shrugged.  He realized that he was going to have to live with the fact that the mercenary was going to call him 'kid'.  "I guess I'm just anxious to get going," Jack told him.  "I tied up some loose ends and said goodbye to my son today.  I'm about as ready as I'll ever be."

            Snake simply nodded, then grabbed himself a slice of pepperoni, sausage, and bacon pizza.  He sat down, devouring the rich blend of meats, sauce and cheese.

            "It's good that you're ready, because we leave tomorrow," Otacon informed Raiden, as he took a seat next to his friend.

            "Tomorrow?" Jack repeated, his voice faltering in disbelief, "But we still have six more days until the 30th."

            Otacon's index finger slid his glasses back up to their appropriate place.  "Right.  But first, we must establish ourselves with proper I.D.'s and uniforms.  We fly tomorrow from Newark to Murmansk."

            Raiden sat down, reaching for a slice of the same pizza that Snake was eating.  "Murmansk?" he asked.  "What's there?"

            "Murmansk is the largest city in the world, north of the Arctic circle," Otacon explained, "Most of the polar research facilities in Russia are situated there.  The Russian Antarctic Research Center's 2nd division of scientists works from there from January to June.  When the 1st division is ready to return, the RART 2nd division takes the submarine 'L'yednik' north through the Barents Sea, around Scandinavia, and then due SSE to Molodezhnaya, Antarctica."

            Hal opened up the untouched box of extra cheese, plain pizza.  He took a slice, not wanting to upset his stomach on the sausage like he did when he had Mei Ling's lasagna.  Reaching across the table, he grabbed the container of grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkled some lightly on the slice.

            "So, where do you want me stationed, Otacon?" Mei Ling asked as she opened the fridge.  She grabbed the bottle of Mountain Dew and laid it on the table.  Raiden poured himself some, then passed the bottle on to Snake.  The man declined it, reaching into a paper sack beside his chair and pulling out an ice cold bottle of Corona.  He unscrewed the top, then took a good sized drink of the beer.  Jack then passed the bottle of soda to Hal, who filled his cup with the almost neon, yellow liquid.

            "You'll be staying at a hotel nearby the RART headquarters," Otacon told Mei Ling.  "You can set up your station and direct from there."

            He took a bite of his pizza, a bit of sauce getting on the corners of his mouth.  Hal wiped it away with his napkin, then sipped his Mountain Dew to wash down the cheese that stuck to the roof of his mouth.  He had ordered extra cheese and got more than his money's worth.  The engineer was having a Hell of a time keeping the rest of the cheese on his slice after it had been bitten into.  He picked up his fork and knife, deciding that it was a futile effort to try and eat it the other way.

            Mei Ling sat down and raided the box of extra cheese pizza.  "Oooo!  I always wanted to see Russia," she said cheerfully.

            "Well that way, if you're there, you'll have easy access to the RARC in case I'd need you to strengthen our covers with a bit of information gathering," Hal explained, cutting himself off a bite with his knife.

            Mei Ling reached back on the end table and grabbed a small booklet.  She handed it to Raiden.  "I almost forgot.  You'll be needing this," Mei said.

            Jack looked at the blue, vinyl cover.  There was gold lettering on it that said "Passport- United States of America" and it had a gold seal in the middle with an eagle stretching out his wings.  He opened it up to find his picture on the inside.

            "Hey!  Where did you get this picture?" Raiden asked, frowning a bit.

            Mei Ling snickered, "I took that picture last week, remember?  After our game of drunken poker, I had you stand against the wall and snapped the photo."

            Jack looked at the passport again.  His face was flushed and shined with perspiration.  His hair was out of place and his eyes were heavy looking.  Despite his somewhat scruffy appearance, Jack had the biggest, brightest grin, stretching from ear to ear.

            "This is a terrible picture of me," he said sighing.

            "You could never have a bad picture taken of you," Mei returned before realizing the implications of that statement.  She blushed feverishly, sinking ever so slightly in her chair.

            Snake looked at Mei Ling, then at Raiden, then at Mei Ling again.  He shook his head, chuckling.  He caught glimpse of the photo in question.  "Drunken Poker, huh?  Hey, Otacon!  Looks like we found a worse player than you!"

            Hal laughed, "It would appear so."

            The engineer turned to look at the woman across the table.  She was uneasy and still red as a beet.  He watched as Jack put his hands behind his head, smiling in a bit of triumph.     "So, Mei likes Raiden," Otacon thought, smiling to himself.

            The blond haired man looked at the name and vital statistics that were adjacent to his picture.  "Luc Marcheur du Ciel?  That's an odd name."

            "Just a private joke," Mei said.  "It's French."

            Raiden switched over his RTTS and read the name again, finally understanding.  Switching back to English, he gave Mei Ling a questioning look.  "You think I look like Luke Skywalker?"

            Mei giggled again in that girlish manner that made Jack's heart flutter.  "Yeah, I do.  Your hairstyle and body type are very similar to his, except that you're a lot fairer."

            Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulder.  "Then I guess that makes you 'Princess Meia'!" he said, laughing out loud.

            The woman burst out laughing, holding her sides as they began to ache.  "Oh my God.  That's it!" she managed to say, eyes tearing up.

            "What's it?" Raiden asked.

            Mei held her laughter in as best as she could so she'd be able to speak.  "Well, all of you guys have code names.  So, I want one too!  Call me 'Princess Meia'."

            Snake shook his head in disgust.  "Those two are obnoxious," he thought to himself, shoving the last bit of crust into his mouth.

            Otacon sat watching the two carry on.  "They're good together," he mused.

            "Help me Ota Con Kenota!  You're my only hope!" Mei said, starting up again.

            Hal laughed.  He looked over at Dave who was starting on his second beer and fourth slice of pizza.  He didn't want to be a party pooper since they'd all have to be dead serious tomorrow, but he could tell that his friend was getting annoyed.  So, he breached the topic at hand again, "Well I guess that's it.  All I need are Raiden's measurements for his sneaking suit, then we'll all go home and gather up everything and meet up at our place at 0700."  Otacon jotted something on a scrap piece of paper.  "Here's the address, Raiden," he said, handing it to Jack.

            The young man read it.  "You're just a few blocks from me."

            "Great," Hal said, taking out his tape measure, "Now how about those measurements?"

Author's Notes:

Aspirin in the vase water is an old trick my mom taught me.  It really works!

Murmansk is a city in northwestern Russia, right by Scandinavia.  It is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle, and most of the Russian Polar Research facilities are located there.  I love Encarta! 

L'yednik is Russian for "Glacier".

Raiden kinda reminds me of Luke Skywalker from the first film.  He's got the same haircut, the same blonde hair, and the same somewhat whiney, childish demeanor.  He also carries a sword parallel to Luke's lightsaber.  Hehehehehehehe… Plus it made for a funny series of jokes.


	10. Chapter 10: Russia

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 10:  Russia

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 10:  Russia

            Otacon wrapped his coat tight around his slender body as he, Snake, and Mei Ling stepped off of the bus.  The air was as cool and crisp as a late autumn day's.  In Murmansk, Russia, late June afternoons usually climbed to a "sweltering" 65° Fahrenheit.  Today, however, the temperature was only 47°.

            He looked up at the tall building in front of him.  It was a modern building, out of place amongst the surrounding buildings in traditional Russian architecture.  There was a marble cornerstone with "Russian Antarctic Research Center" in Russian carved into it.

            Snake stood beside him, "_So, here we are,_" he said, having already activated his RTTS.

            Hal nodded.  "_We'll be in Antarctica soon._"

            Mei hugged herself, rubbing her arms.  "_I don't envy you guys,_" she told them, her newly implanted RTTS working perfectly, "_I'm already freezing!_"

            Raiden came up behind her, wrapping himself around her body.  "_I'll keep you warm,_" he offered with a wry smile.

            Mei Ling blushed, "_You flirt!  You're almost as bad as he is!_" she chastised, pointing in Dave's direction.

            Snake winked, blowing the woman a kiss.  "_Baby, I'm badder._"

            Otacon sighed heavily, clearing his mind.  "_Alright.  Here goes nothing,_" he said.

            The four stepped inside the RARC.  The warmth of the building's heater welcomed them, allowing Hal to loosen his grip on his coat a bit.  They found themselves in a large lobby, with tall ceilings, and beautiful, giant, framed paintings of the Antarctic hanging along the walls.  The floor was a polished black marble, their reflections clearly visible in it.  

At the far end of the lobby, there was a security desk, with a lone security guard seated behind it.  He sat silently watching the monitors, looking rather bored.  They walked up to the desk, at which point the guard stood up, much more alert than he had seemed only a moment ago.  He was a young man, probably in his early twenties, with neatly groomed, sandy blond hair and cool gray eyes.

"_Your names, please?_" he said, grabbing a clipboard.

Otacon spoke up, "_I'm Dr. Richard Emmerson.  We're with the American team that is to accompany the RART 2nd division to Molodezhnaya._"

The security guard moved his pen tip like a pointer down the long list of names until it stopped on the one that he was looking for.  "_Ah, welcome Dr. Emmerson._"  The man handed Otacon another clipboard.  "_Just sign in here._"

The scientists neatly signed that name to the visitor's list, then stood aside so that his partners could do the same.

Mei Ling stepped forward, "_Dr. Ming Lei_"

The guard looked down his list, then gestured for her to sign in as well.

Snake was next, "_Dr. Nathair Davids._"

Lastly, Raiden stated his alias to the security guard.  "_Dr. Luc Marcheur Du Ciel._"

After they were all signed in, the guard opened up a drawer, producing four visitor's passes and handed one to each of them.

"_Dr. Yadik is waiting for you in his lab on the fourth floor._"  He pointed down the hall to a set of elevators.  "_Take the elevator up, then it's the third door on your right._"

"_Thank you,_" the false Dr. Emmerson said, clipping his visitor's pass to his coat.

The group made its way down the hall, footsteps echoing in the large open room they had just left.  Snake pushed the "up" button on the panel, and the elevator made its way down.  Slowing to a halt, the doors opened with a chime, and a voice in Russian over a speaker announcing, "Ground floor- this elevator is going up."  They stepped inside, pressing the appropriate button.  The doors shut, and the elevator began its journey to the fourth floor.

"_Fourth floor- this elevator is going down,_" announced the voice as the elevator made it to its destination.  Snake and his partners got off and walked down the hall until they reached the third door on the right, just as the guard had directed.  It had a gold plate on it that read "Dr. Yadik's Laboratory" in the Cyrillic alphabet.  Hal knocked, and a voice called out to them.  "Come in!"

He opened the door into a cold room filled with all sorts of experiments.  There were fossils laid out in groups and categorized by possible region of origin.  There was a heavy door to the left that had "_Frozen Samples_" written above it.  An impressive array of computers and instruments were scattered among the worktables.  Hal wished he could check out all of the neat things he saw, even though he could probably build over ¾ of them himself, from scratch.

"_Dr. Emmerson, I presume?_" Dr. Yadik asked for confirmation as he dried his freshly washed hands on a paper towel.  The RART scientist was of average height, but his somewhat stocky build made him appear taller than he actually was.  He was in his early fifties, and not surprisingly had more "salt" than "pepper" in his thinning, close cropped hair.

"_Yes,_" Otacon answered him, extending his hand, "_Nice to meet you._"

Dr. Yadik grasped the slender man's hand firmly, "_A pleasure._"  He gestured for the group to follow him into his office.  "_Please.  Have a seat._"

They all situated themselves in the four chairs that were scattered around the office.  Otacon cringed a bit as he looked around.  There were papers strewn about everywhere, file cabinets hanging open, and what looked like the remnants of another day's lunch sitting on top of the table in the far corner.  He wondered how the Hell the man found anything he needed in this place.

The scientist rummaged through the piles of papers on his desk. "_I was under the impression that the American Team cancelled their part in the expedition due to some internal issues,_" he said.

Dr. Emmerson nodded.  "_They did, but I had been hoping to go for such a long time now.  It's been my dream to see the Antarctic.  I've studied the Arctic for a while, so when the opportunity arose to shift my studies southward, I went for it.  After the disappointment of the cancellation, I begged and bargained with my boss, Dr. Jones, to allow me to take a small team of colleagues at my own expense, so he agreed._"

"_I see,_" he said, finding the paper that he needed amongst the rubble.  "_Well, I checked your clearance.  You have full permission to travel on the 'L'yednik' any time you like._"

"_Thank you,_" Hal said, shifting his glasses.

"_The submarine leaves on the 30th, so until then, please feel free to use our facilities as you see fit,_" Yadik offered.

"_Thank you again,_" Hal replied, reaching out to shake the other's hand another time.

Yadik shook his hand, then stood up and walked over to the other three people that sat beside "Emmerson".

"_This is your team?_" he asked.

Hal nodded, "_Oh… yes.  I'm sorry,_" he said, embarrassed that he had forgotten about his companions.  He held his hand out in Snake's direction.  "_This is my Chief of Staff, Dr. Nathair Davids._"

"_A pleasure to meet you, Doctor,_" Davids told the scientist.

"_This is my specialist in Paleontology, Dr. Ming Lei,_" Hal gestured at the Asian woman.

"_How do you do?_" she replied, giving a friendly wave.

"_And this is my Polar Meteorologist, Dr. Luc Marcheur Du Ciel._"

"_Hello,_" Raiden said, shaking the RART scientist's hand.

Dr. Yadik smiled.  "_Quite an impressive and diverse group you have here, Dr. Emmerson.  I hope your time at our base is useful to your research.  It looks as if you intend to study several areas._"

"_Yes, we do,_" Hal answered, "_And the Center for Polar Research will be most grateful for your generosity._"

"_You're welcome,_" Yadik replied.

Author's Notes:

Average daytime, late-June temperature: 65 degrees Fahrenheit.  Source:  www.weather.com

The group's aliases explained:

Dr. Richard Emmerson-  Emmerich split in half like so:  Emme  Rich.  Then reversed order:  Rich  Emme.  Then… Richard  Emmerson.  Ta Da!!!

Dr. Luc Marcheur Du Ciel-  Explained in Chapter 9.

Dr. Nathair Davids-  I'm sure y'all get the "Davids" part.  Duh!  Nathair is Scottish Gaelic for "Snake".  It is also a name.

Dr. Ming Lei- Duh!!! Hehehehehehehe…


	11. Chapter 11: Before the Storm

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 11:  Before the Storm

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for very mild sexual content (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 11:  Before the Storm

****

            "Oh yeah!  Now that's the good stuff," Solid Snake said, looking over the bottle from which he had just drank.  "Nobody does Vodka better than the Russians."

            Otacon flopped down on the bed next to Snake. He sighed as the soft mattress began to release the knots in his back from the great amount of traveling he had just done.  "This is a nice room," the engineer said thoughtfully.

            Dave looked at his friend.  "It's a good thing too, cuz we'll be here for the next four days."  He took another good nip at the bottle.  "You want some?"

            Hal shook his head, "No thanks."

            Snake smiled crookedly, "You ever even tried Vodka before?"

            The skinny man glowed red with embarrassment.  Here he was, in his mid-thirties, and never even tried Vodka.  He was going to be teased about this for sure.  Hal said nothing, hoping that his friend would infer his answer from his silence.

            Snake laughed, "Come on, Otacon.  Live a little," he said, offering the bottle again.

            Hal hesitated, then realized that the mercenary would not leave him alone until he gave him the satisfaction of a sip.  He reached out and took the bottle from Dave, stopping to sniff the contents.  It stung his nostrils a bit.  Hal made a face, wrinkling his nose.

            "Come on!" Snake urged in his rough, masculine voice.

            The engineer closed his eyes and took a swig.  The clear, strong liquid almost burned as it made its way down his throat.  He lowered the bottle, quickly passing it back to his friend with a gagging cough.

            "Ugh!  How do you drink that crap?"

            Snake laughed again.  "Good shit, huh?"  The mercenary tipped the bottle towards Otacon.  "More?"

            Hal opened his mouth to say no, but stopped.  He realized exactly what was going on.  Snake was just trying to relax before their long, hard battle began, and he wanted to share this time with Hal.  He smiled, happy for the time they were spending together.  "What the Hell," he said, grabbing the Vodka back, and taking another good swig.

            Dave smiled.  "That's the spirit!" he stated, slapping his friend on the back.

            The second drink was easier going down.  Hal pulled the bottle from his lips, wiping small drops that missed his mouth on his lab coat sleeve.  Shivers made their way up Otacon's spine as the effects of the alcohol were already starting to work their magic on him.

            Snake took the bottle back and had himself another sip.

            "Dave?" Otacon said, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

            "Yeah?" the mercenary answered.

            "What do you think is going to be waiting for us when we get to Antarctica?"

            Pulling himself out a cigarette and lighting it, Snake leaned back against the headboard.  He put up his bare feet, resting his hands casually behind his head.  Dave took a long, draw on his cigarette, breathing the smoke in deep.  "I honestly don't know," he replied frankly, "but I've got a gut feeling that it's something more than what it seems to be.  This isn't going to be a simple reconnaissance mission.  We're heading into some deep shit."

            Otacon nodded his agreement.  He slid up a bit, mimicking Snake's posture.  The engineer took the Vodka from his friend again, throwing back a shot's worth.

            Snake looked Hal over and smiled.  "Better take it easy on the juice.  I doubt your skinny ass can handle much."

            Otacon let out a belch comparable to one he had heard Dave do the last time he had finished off a bottle of liquor.  Surprised at himself, he covered his mouth.  "Oh, excuse me."

            Snake shook his head, "You see? There's your problem, right there," he said.

            "Huh?  What do you mean?" the engineer returned, confused.

            "You're always so uptight.  You need to learn to relax."

            Hal adjusted his glasses.  "It's a bit hard to relax when you're about ready to go into battle."

            Snake shrugged, "You can still stay and take over for Mei Ling."

            "Dave, we've been through this…"

            The mercenary put up his hands.  "Just reminding you of your options.  That's all."

            Hal drew his knees into his chest, wrapping his arms around them.  He sat his chin on the natural groove between where his knees met.  "How do you stay so cool before a mission?"

            With another drag, and another billow of smoke to follow it, Snake sat for a moment, thinking of his answer.

            "I guess I'm just used this sort of thing by now," he said with an inaudible snort.  "Unfortunately, things like killing become easier."

            Hal turned his head to lay his cheek on his knees where his chin had rested a moment ago.  "Do you ever think about death and loss of friends?"  The thoughts associated with that question caused a hard lump to build up in his throat.

            "You mean like Meryl?" Snake asked, drawing on his cigarette.

            "Yeah."

            Snake shifted his bright green eyes to look into his friend's.  "That's never easy.  But, I have to remember this:  If I don't complete my missions, many more people, those I care about, will die."

            Hal sighed.  "I suppose that's one way to look at it."

            Snake patted Otacon on the back.  "You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.  After the terribly painful loss of Emma, you still managed to get those hostages to safety at the 'Big Shell'.  What gave you the strength then?"

            Pausing for a moment, Otacon thought back to that tragic day.  A lot of things filled his mind then:  all of his losses, all of the betrayals by those he loved.  Through all of that, one thing stood out in his mind:  David, Solid Snake, his friend.  He was the strength behind everything he did from their meeting at Shadow Moses, forward.  He always knew the right things to say, the right moment to slap him on the back, the right time to grab him in that reassuring hug he so often gave.  Hal didn't answer, a bit embarrassed to tell Dave his feeling on the issue.  Instead, he took the now half empty bottle of Vodka, drinking more of the astringent liquid.

            Otacon's silence radiated his feelings of uncertainty and insecurity to Snake.  "Sit up," he ordered the engineer.

            "Hmm?" Hal said, returning from his own world of thoughts.

            "Sit up straight, at the side of the bed," he repeated.

            Otacon did as he was told.  His back was tense and sore, and was partially the reason for his slouching posture a moment ago.  That all began to change as he felt strong, warm hands beginning to knead the knots from his shoulders.

            "God damn, Hal!" Dave remarked as he felt the tightness of the muscles under his fingertips, "You're more tense than I thought."

            Closing his eyes, Otacon sighed.  The combination of the Vodka and Snake's hands moving across his back was allowing him to relax.  He was feeling so good.

            "You know, you don't have to do this."

            Snake smiled.  "Yes I do.  Now just shut up and let someone do something for you for a change."

            Hal's body loosened up a bit as he felt Dave's hands work their way slowly yet firmly down to massage the flesh in his lower back.  A wave of heat began to make its way up his spine and into his face as the slender man became suddenly aware of the closeness to his friend.  He could smell the Vodka and smoke on the mercenary's breath, and the scent of his body, still emanating traces of the musk cologne he had put on this morning.  Hal found himself drawn in, somehow, to Snake's essence.  Eyes still closed, he inhaled deeply, then let the air out forcefully, relaxing himself further.  He focused in on the rhythmic movements of those strong hands, now working into his neck.

            "You feel better now?" Snake asked as he ironed the knots out of his friend's neck.

            There was no response.

            Dave turned his head to see Hal's slumped down, chin on his chest, fast asleep.  He let out a quiet snore with each breath, and a small amount of drool was beginning to make its way down the corners of his mouth.

            Snake chuckled to himself.  "I told you that you couldn't hold your liquor, Otacon."

            He leaned his friend gently back onto the bed, resting his head on the pillow.  Carefully, so as not to wake him, Dave removed Hal's glasses, lab coat, shoes and socks, and draped them over the suitcases.  He then pulled the blankets up and over him, keeping the slender man's body warm and cozy.

            Extinguishing what was left of his cigarette, he got undressed.  Snake slipped on a pair of navy blue sweatpants, then went to turn out the lights.  The room had two double beds:  one for Hal, one for Raiden, and Snake had intended to sleep on the floor.  Instead, Dave crawled into bed with his friend, hoping he wouldn't mind.  The floor was looking less inviting with every sip he had taken tonight.

            As he leaned back in the bed, staring blankly into the dark, he wondered when the Hell Raiden was going to get his ass back from Mei Ling's room.

***

            Raiden laughed as a handful of popcorn came flying at him.

            "Oh, Jack.  Stop!  You're going to kill me!" Mei Ling said, giggling hysterically at her companion's impressions.

            Jack got a good fistful from the bag of microwaved popcorn, and hurled it back at Mei.

            The two were laying at the foot of Mei's bed, on their stomachs, watching a poorly dubbed broadcast of _Star Wars:  A New Hope_.  Raiden had been doing impressions of all of the characters, and rather badly too, all night long.  Mei Ling just sat back and enjoyed the show.

            "You're so funny, Jack," she said. "You make me laugh."

            "I try my best, Princess," Raiden returned.

            "I'll bet you were a regular class clown as a kid," Mei said.

            Raiden's laughter ceased.  He lowered his head, looking at the comforter beneath him.  There was a long pause, and Mei Ling turned to regard the fair-haired man, a look of concern on her face.

            With a heaving sigh, Jack finally said something.  "I never had the chance to be."

            "What do you mean?" the woman asked.

            Raiden shook his head.  "It's nothing.  Don't worry about it," he said, his voice trailing off with distant thoughts of the past.

            Mei nodded.  "All of us here have pasts filled with dark things that we're not proud of.  If you don't feel comfortable telling me, then that's okay.  Just know that I…" she blushed, "we're here for you."

            Jack caught Mei's Freudian slip, and turned to look back at her, a half smile on his face.  "I know you are," he told her.  "Thank you."

            Blushing even deeper, Mei Ling looked down, avoiding contact with Jack's eyes.  She didn't want him to see the infatuation that was plainly written across them.

            Raiden reached out and lifted the woman's chin to face him.  Then, without any more words spoken, he gently kissed her lips.  She returned it, almost eagerly, but with a shy uncertainty behind it.  Raiden pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.  Mei Ling emulated his movements, kissing him more urgently with each breath.

She found herself running her well-manicured nails up and down his back.  The movement of her hands on Jack's body became more rhythmic, more desperate.  As a result, his t-shirt began to untuck itself from his jeans, scrunching upwards.  Mei Ling danced her fingers over the now exposed, porcelain skin on his back.  He was soft, warm and inviting.

Chills and waves of heat, all at once, made their way up Raiden's spine, fueling his passion.  He made the next move, parting Mei's lips with his tongue, gently stroking it against hers.

A small moan escaped Mei's mouth from where their lips met.  She found herself pulling her body closer to his, grinding against him.  Their hips moved in sync with each other, and by now, there was obvious physical evidence of her partner's desire as she felt Raiden's hardness pressing urgently into her.

Jack left Mei to gasp for air as he broke his kiss to softly nibble at her neck, right behind her ear.  He felt her grip on him tighten as she tugged on his body.  They shifted their position with a half roll with Mei Ling now flat on her back and Raiden at the dominant position on top of her.

Mei reached up, stroking her fingers through his mass of icy blond hair.  Jack paused for a moment to gaze into her dark brown eyes, enjoying the sensation of her nails on his scalp.  She looked back up at him, and the two joined again at the lips, deeply and passionately.

***

            Snake still lay wide-awake in the dark, unable to sleep as usual.  From beside him came soft snoring.  From behind the wall of the adjacent room came cries of passion.  He smiled, lighting up another cigarette.  "Looks like Raiden's not coming back tonight."

Author's Notes:

Nothing that I can think of.


	12. Chapter 12: Journey

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 12:  Journey

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for suggestive dialogue (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 12:  Journey

            After 5 days of traveling, the low hum of the "L'yednik's" engines began to drone into Otacon's ears, making him drowsy.  Alert as usual, Snake sat beside him on the bunk, keeping himself occupied by tossing a pack of cigarettes into the air and catching them repeatedly.  Since smoking was not permitted on the submarine, Snake was beginning to go through terrible withdrawal.  Though inwardly, he was going crazy, he appeared cool, calm and collective as he always did.  This was something that Otacon admired about him.  Snake was a master of deception, his emotions hidden from the world by a face, whose expressions were readable only by his closest friend and partner.  Now, if only Hal could master that art, he'd have it made.

            Hal struggled to keep his eyes open.  He gave his arm a quick pinch to wake himself up.  Dave took notice to this and frowned a bit.

            "You'd better catch up on your sleep now," he told the engineer.  "There'll be no time for napping later."

            "I know," Hal said.  "I'm kind of afraid to though.  You know, with all of the RNF secretly running around this place."

            Snake stopped tossing his cigarettes for a moment to stretch out his shoulders.  "Well, I'm up.  I'll keep watch.  Will you be able to rest then?"

            Otacon shrugged.  "I suppose."

            Raiden was lounging on his bunk across the sleeping quarters.  "I'm up too, so you'll have both of us on guard."

            "See?" Snake said, getting up from Otacon's bed, "Now get some damned sleep, will ya?"

            The slender man didn't argue.  He was tired, and they were close to their destination.  This would be his last opportunity to rest up before the mission.  He crawled under the covers, laying his glasses on the night table.  Hal fell quickly asleep.

            The room got really quiet after that, save for the soft breathing of the scientist and the sound of the "L'yednik's" engines.  Snake jumped into his own bunk, returning to tossing his pack of cigarettes.

            The silence made Jack uneasy.  He knew that the mercenary was not one for small talk, but he had to do something.  Whenever things were quiet, Jack's mind would wander, and thoughts of things he didn't want to think about always seemed to creep up on him.

            "Hey, Snake?"

            "Hmm?" he grunted in reply.

            "You nervous?"

            Raiden mentally kicked himself.  "That was a dumb question.  Of course he's not nervous.  He's 'Solid Snake'."  It was too late now, and even if it was stupid, it was conversation.

            Dave looked over at Jack, still tossing the pack into the air.  "Eh, maybe a bit."

            The kid was surprised by the man's answer.  "Oh, really?"

            "Yeah." Snake answered.  "I suppose though, that it's more of an uneasy gut feeling that we're getting in way over our heads.  I haven't had pre-battle jitters in years."  The mercenary pointed his finger at Raiden.  "My instincts are usually correct.  I hope you know you've gotten yourself into some dangerous shit."

            Jack nodded, "Yeah.  I figured as much.  Well, if anything goes wrong, I can at least say I got something good out of this whole deal."

            "What's that?" Snake inquired.

            "I was introduced to an amazing woman," Raiden said with an almost girl-like, dreamy sigh.

            Snake just burst out laughing.  "Yeah.  From the sound of it, you two were really hitting it off the other night."

            Raiden's face flushed.  "You heard?"

            "Kid, my ears have been trained to listen for any hint of a sneaking enemy.  You think I wouldn't have heard the two of you panting wildly like dogs in heat?"

            "Umm… well…"

            "Relax kid," Snake reassured him, "It wasn't like I was trying to listen in."  He smiled wryly.  "Though I must commend you on a job well done.  I haven't heard a girl scream like that in a long time."

            "Snake!"

            The mercenary just chuckled to himself, then turned his head back to watch the pack of cigarettes go up and down.

***

            "So Jack is with them?" the voice said into Rose's ear.

            "Yes.  He is.  So then it was Otacon that contacted him at my apartment a few days ago?" she asked for confirmation.

            "Affirmative," came the reply.  "I was able to discern the frequency, even though I wasn't able to decrypt the message."

            Rose nodded in acknowledgement.  "So, what are my orders then?"

            "Make sure the proper channels are opened to them for safe passage.  I need the one alive," the voice commanded.

            "What about the other two?"

            "I'll make use of them, or I'll kill them.  I haven't decided yet.  I at least would like to try to incorporate Jack into the 'E. Weapon Project'."  Strange soft chuckling followed the statement.  "Frost will be pleasantly surprised."

            Rose cocked her eyebrow.  "Frost knows Jack?"

            "Anyways, Rosemary, just do your job and get them here.  I've been antsy for the past few days."

            "We should arrive in Molodezhnaya tomorrow, and be at the base by the morning after."

            The voice sighed in relief.  "Good.  Just be sure to stay out of sight."

            "Understood, Genesis."

***

            After the codec transmission ended, Rose turned back to look at herself in the mirror.  Her amber colored contacts had been removed to reveal her true eye color.  They were a light, stormy gray with tiny flecks of blue in them.  She glanced down at the brown mass of hair that lay in the sink.  It sure felt good to finally be rid of all of that hair.  After all, she had only grown it as part of her assignment to Jack.  It was now cropped just above her shoulders, curled under and layered throughout.  She touched it thoughtfully as she gazed back at her reflection.

            "Welcome back, Rosemary," she said.

***

            Otacon looked around at his companions as they fastened up their sneaking suits, then looked down at himself.  He was considerably skinnier than they were, and the tight fit of the sneaking suit only accentuated that fact.  The only thing redeeming him was the bulk of the shoulder, elbow, and knee guards.

            Hal jumped as a firm hand came crashing down on his rear.

            "Looks good," Snake told him, laughing.

            "Snake!" the scientist whined indignantly.

            Raiden ran his hands over the rubbery, yet soft material of his suit.  "Wow, Otacon.  This is much more comfortable than my skull suit.  You tailored it perfectly."

            The scientist's chest broadened a bit with pride.  "Thanks."

            Otacon put on his RART issued clothes, coat and gloves over his sneaking suit, tucking the headpiece away in the coat's inner pocket.  Fully dressed, he turned to face the others.

            "Okay.  Now we're in this together.  No matter what happens, we must find and rescue those scientists and destroy whatever weapons they have created," he said, putting out his hand.  Raiden and Snake laid their hands down on top of his.  "And I'm behind you all the way," Hal said, looking directly at Snake.

            The mercenary saw the strength of determination burning in his partner's eyes.  He acknowledged his friend's statement with an almost indiscernible nod.

            The three stood there, hands joined, for what seemed like an eternity.  The sound of the "L'yednik's" engines changed in pitch, indicating it was ascending to the surface.  They had arrived, though neither one knew what was waiting to greet them. 

Author's Notes:

Yet more "Kojima-ness".  The reference to "Frost knowing Jack"… Jack Frost… Get it? LOL!


	13. Chapter 13: Stowaway

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 13:  Stowaway

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 13:  Stowaway

            "_Beautiful…_" came the almost whispered word in Russian.  Otacon took in a full survey of everything around him.  Even in the pitch black of the Antarctic winter, the sights were impressive.  The Aurora Australis could be seen, glowing eerily from above, it's light illuminating the endless snowdrifts and glaciers.

            The base, Molodezhnaya itself, was rather small, consisting of only a few buildings and a few small observatories spread over a 100 square kilometer radius.  People were walking about, wrapped up in their layers and layers of clothing, carrying instruments and computer equipment.  For such a small base, there was a lot of activity going on.

            "_Dr. Emmerson!_" called a voice from behind.

            Otacon turned to see Dr. Yadik strolling up to him.

            "_Good Afternoon, Doctor,_" Hal greeted the man.

            "_Good Afternoon to you, Dr. Emmerson,_" he replied.  "_So, what do you think of the base?_"

            "_It's very nice.  I think I'll enjoy my time here._"

            "_Splendid,_" Yadik said.  "_Now, I wanted to let you know that I'll be away for a week or so on a survey expedition with some of my team members.  While I'm gone, I'll be leaving Dr. Kovich in charge.  If there's anything you or the others will be needing, please ask him._"

            "_Thank you,_" "Richard Emmerson" returned, holding out his hand.

            "_No thanks are needed, Doctor.  It's my pleasure,_" the RART scientist said, shaking his hand firmly.  "_And I'm sorry about Dr. Ming Lei taking ill.  Perhaps she could join you on another stay._"

            Hal nodded, "_Yes.  I'm sure she'd like that._"

            "_Good.  Then I'll be seeing you later,_" he told him, as he walked off to help load the truck for his expedition.

            Hal's eyes followed him.  He stood for a moment, staring at the vehicle.  Then, it dawned upon him.

***

            Both Snake's and Raiden's codecs rang in their ears.  They answered the call.

            "Snake?  Raiden?" came Hal's voice.

            "Yeah, we're here, Otacon," Snake replied, "What's going on?"

            "Where exactly are you two?"

            "On the submarine, still getting our things together," Raiden answered him.  "We're almost done."

            "Well, you guys better come take a look at this."

            Snake and Raiden grabbed their packs and went outside of the "L'yednik".  They found Otacon near the main building, waiting patiently for them.

            "Look over there with your scope," the engineer instructed, pointing out into the distance.

            Snake pulled out his scope and focused in on the vehicle.  "It's a modified Russian ATV cargo hauler, military issue."

            Raiden scratched the back of his head, "Military issue?"

            The mercenary grunted his affirmative, then scanned to the activity surrounding the truck.  "That's our ride, isn't it?"

            Otacon readjusted his glasses.  "Precisely.  That also means that our friend over there, Dr. Yadik, if that even is his name, is a member of the RNF."

            A bit surprised by this revelation, Jack's head turned quickly to look at the engineer.  "Do you think he suspects anything?"

            "I'm not sure," Hal answered with a sigh.

            Snake let out a low growl.  "I don't like this at all.  It's just too damned convenient."  He reached into his pocket, pulling out his cigarettes.  Lighting one up, Dave drew in the much needed, nicotine-saturated smoke.

            "So, what do you suggest we do?" the younger of the three asked.

            Otacon paused for a moment, giving things careful consideration.  He then touched a spot behind his ear, activating his codec.

            "Hello Otacon!" Mei's voice said.  "How was your trip?"

            "Tiring," he replied.  "Listen, I need you to establish a link with the RARC's central network."

            "Already done, boss," she said cheerfully, "I implemented those new techniques you taught me on remote control access of a secure network."

            "Good job, Mei," the engineer praised her.  "Now, I need some info."

            "Sure."

            Otacon shifted his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  "I need to know if Dr. Yadik had any files on a survey expedition."

            "Ok, I'm checking now.  It'll be a few minutes since I've got to crack his password."

            Otacon sighed.  "Okay.  Just let me know if you find out the expedition route."

            Mei Ling seemed a bit eager with her next question.  "Is Jack there?"

            "Yes he is," Hal answered.  He got Raiden's attention, gesturing for him to switch on his codec.

            "Hi, Princess!"  Jack said, making kissing noises, "Miss me?"

            "Terribly," the woman returned.  "You'd better come back to me."

            "You have my word."

            "Remember:  A man is only as good as his word, Jack," she said, sounding a bit less upbeat than her usual self.

            "I mean it, Mei.  I'll be back," Jack assured her.  "We have so much more to discover about each other.  I can't wait to see where it takes us."

            "I can't either," she told him.

            The sound of Mei Ling's fingernails clacking against the keys of the keyboard as she typed could be heard over the codec.  "Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed.  "I'm in Yadik's personal files now.  Otacon?"

            "Yeah, I'm here," he answered her.

            "Okay.  Yadik's survey expedition is supposed to go from the base and make an elliptical path southward, then back to the base again.  Guess where it passes through?"

            "Somewhere 400 kilometers SSE of here?" Otacon said dryly.

            "Affirmative.  The estimated position of the RNF's base."

            "Alright.  Thanks, Mei," the scientist said, closing his codec.

            "Bye, Jack.  Remember your promise."

            Raiden smiled, "I will.  Bye, Princess," the blond haired man returned.

            Snake leaned against the wall of the building, finishing the last few drags on his cigarette.  "So, we're hitching a ride?" he asked, jerking his head in the general direction of the truck.

            "Mhmm," Otacon confirmed.  He pulled out the little brown box that was his stealth camo, and clipped it on his belt underneath his RART clothes.  "Will we be using the usual method?"

            Snake's brow furrowed a bit, "I think that would be the best way, but we'll have to modify it a bit.

            Intrigued, Hal pushed up his glasses with his index finger.  "So, what did you have in mind?"

***

            Rose finished directing the last of her team members to get the rest of the equipment loaded onto the cargo hauler.  She was shivering, despite her efforts to pile on layers of clothing.  Her long, gray scarf was wrapped around her face several times, the remainder hanging down her back.

            "Damn this God forsaken place," she mumbled with her gloved hands in her coat pockets.

            "I like it here," Yadik said in slightly accented English.  "It's so peaceful."

            "Did you deliver the message?" she asked him.

            The middle-aged man nodded.  "Yes.  I'm sure they'll figure it out."

            Rose let out a heavy sigh.  "I hope so.  Otherwise, I'll have Genesis breathing down my neck."

            "Don't worry," Dr. Yadik told her, waving a hand, "I've already made the proper arrangements."

***

            Cloaked in his stealth camo, Otacon made his way carefully over to the loading area.  He stilled his nerve-induced heavy breathing as best as he could so as not to be heard.  Luckily for Hal, he weighed next to nothing, so even though he had no clue about how to silently sneak around, his footsteps were naturally light and almost undetectable.

            He leaned his back against a large crate and looked around.  There were two people standing by the front of the ATV cargo hauler.  One of them was Yadik, and the other he didn't know.  They seemed to be engaged in conversation, so he took the moment of opportunity to search the large crate that he was leaning against.  It was mostly empty, save for a few computer components and packing materials.  Hal did a few quick calculations to determine the structural integrity of the crate after adding the masses of two human beings.

***

            "Alright.  Seal us up and keep watch," Snake ordered his partner, his voice at a low whisper.  He and Raiden were inside the large crate, lying side by side.  They were going to be there for a long while, so this was the most comfortable position.

            Otacon closed and latched the box shut, then quickly made his way inside the hold of the cargo hauler.  He sat down behind some boxes in the far corner, keeping and eye back outside.

            The truck's engines started up, and the cloaked man could hear doors shutting as people got in.  He nervously began to sweat.  They hadn't loaded the crate with Dave and Jack yet, and it was too late for him to get off.  An RNF soldier, disguised as one of the RART scientists, got into the back of the cargo hauler and sat down on one of the smaller wooden boxes by the door.  Even with his stealth camo, if he tried to sneak past him, he'd be caught for sure.

            Relief then washed over him as he saw four RART disguised RNF soldiers lugging the heavy crate over towards the truck.  They grunted and groaned as they struggled with the weight of their haul.  Two others came to assist them.  They all finally managed to lift it up and into the hold, dropping it with a thud.  Hal winced, thinking about how Dave must've been cursing silently to himself right now.

            The doors shut, and the hold went dark.  The only light illuminating the space was a small red indicator light on a control panel on the wall across from where Hal was sitting.

The invisible man looked at the soldier that was over by the doors.  He was sitting, leaning back with his eyes closed, and Hal could almost hear a snore escape his mouth every few seconds.

Turning his attention elsewhere, Otacon looked at the crate.  There was not a single hint of movement coming from there.  It would stay that way for the next six hours as the ATV cargo hauler started its bumpy journey across the frozen wasteland of Antarctica.

Author's Notes:

The "Aurora Australis" is what they call the phenomena in the southern hemisphere.  The generic term for both would be "Aurora Polaris".  

I had to add a "box" reference in here somewhere.  It just wouldn't be Metal Gear without Snake in a box!


	14. Chapter 14: Hacking

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 14:  Hacking

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for minor, non-graphic depiction of violence. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 14: Hacking

****

            The cargo hauler came to a stop.  Hal sat in the corner of the dark hold, waiting with anticipation.  He could hear several soft voices around him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

            The soldier who sat by the door got up, yawning and stretching.  He had slept the entire way there, and that had given Hal's nerves of being caught a rest for at least that part of the mission.

            The doors opened with a rush of bright fluorescent light, and it struck hard on the eyes of the man in stealth camo, causing him to squint as they adjusted.  After spending the last 6 hours in almost total blackness, Otacon was glad to be able to see everything around him again.

            Hal watched the soldier get off of the truck, then switched on his codec.

            "What's the situation, Otacon?" Snake asked.

            "From what I can tell from the radar, we're in a large docking bay," he answered.

            "And where exactly is that?"

            Otacon paused for a moment, pulling various readings from his sneaking suit's computer control system.  "Well, satellite readings say that we're exactly where we should be.  We're 407.5 kilometers SSE of Molodezhnaya, but according to the barometer, these air pressure readings are consistent with those of a position 14.31 km below sea level."

            "What?!" Raiden exclaimed.

            Snake verbally nodded.  "Someone really doesn't want to get discovered out here."

            "Yeah…," Otacon agreed.  "So, are your radars working alright?"

            "They seem to be," Snake told him.  "I'll just have to get used to the upgrade.  That's all."

            Raiden looked at the display in the corner of his vision.  The positions of the people on the radar were no longer represented by red dots.  They were now red silhouettes marching around the screen.  Their field of vision and hearing was now represented by a purple glow that surrounded each figure, fading with a gradient to show the level of acuity they had at a certain distance.

            "Wow!" commented the young blond, "Mei's done wonders with this thing!"

            "I'll admit I couldn't have done better myself," Hal said.  "She's got me beat when it comes to radar system design."

            "Alright, Otacon.  Let us out.  We'll go find the weapons.  You go find Dr. Raznov and Dr. Chetnik," Snake said to his partner.

            The engineer opened up the latches on the wooden crate, releasing the two men from their confines.  Despite the fact that they had been cramped up inside that box for several hours, the trained soldiers got out of it and hopped off of the truck, not even pausing to stretch out their stiff bodies.  They snuck quickly out of sight.  On his radar, Hal watched the two stealths move expertly and silently past several guards.

            "Be careful," Snake's voice added.  "Don't do anything stupid."

            "I won't," Hal replied with a sigh.

***

            Snake's senses were in overdrive as he peered around the corner.  A lone soldier was making his way down the hall towards him.  The mercenary pulled out his Socom, grasping it firmly in his hands.  He stood patiently with his back flat against the wall, watching and waiting.  When his radar indicated that the soldier was looking away, Snake jumped out and expertly put a bullet in the back of his neck, severing his brain stem.  The unsuspecting soldier fell helplessly to the ground in a heap, not even able to cry out in pain. 

            Snake gestured for Raiden, and together they dragged the body to the nearest locker, stashing him inside.

            "Where are we going?" asked Raiden.

            "I'm scoping things out, first," Snake answered, looking into one of the rooms in the hallway.  "There's gotta be something around here that'll tell me where they're keeping the weapons."

            A computer terminal at the far side of the room caught Snake's eye.  He walked over to it, then leaned down to read the screen.

            "Hmm… It's password protected," he stated.

            Dave patched into frequency 141.12 on his codec.  "Otacon?  Do you read me?"

            "Loud and clear, Snake.  What do you need?" his friend's voice answered.

            "Are you near a computer terminal?"

            Otacon verbally shook his head, "Uh uh.  But, I did see one a few rooms back.  Why?"

            "Good," the mercenary said, "If you can, go back there.  I need you to crack the password."

            "I'm on my way there now."

***

            Hal's fists pounded on the desk as another error message popped up on the screen.  He'd been at this for about ten minutes now, and still couldn't get through.

            "Damn it!" he exclaimed, rubbing his temples in frustration.  "This security system's no joke."

            Otacon, still cloaked in his stealth camo, ran through the system again.  He thoroughly checked over everything.  Then suddenly, his eyes widened with recognition.

            "Wait a minute!  This looks familiar."  His brow furrowed.  "It can't be."

            With a few quick keystrokes from there, Hal was in.

***

            Snake's codec rang in his ear.

            "You get in yet?"

            "Yeah," Hal answered him, but I had a bit of trouble.  It seems that someone was using a 'Rotating Encryption/Password Inversion' technique."

            "Huh?  What the Hell does that mean?" the mercenary asked, scratching the back of his head.

            Otacon paused for a moment, trying to sum it all up simply.  "It means that the way the computer encrypted the password was set on a timer to change every 10 seconds.  Then, in addition, the password itself changed by inverting the letters every 10 seconds in a cycle.  It was difficult, but I was able to decipher the pattern."

            "I see," Snake said.  "So, how do I get in?"

            "During the last 10 seconds of every minute, type in the word 'shadow'," his partner instructed.

            "Got it," Snake said, pulling up the menu.  "Now, to find the weapons."

            "Snake?  There's something I need to tell you," Otacon began in a nervous tone.

            "What is it?"

            "Well…um…you see…"

            "Just spit it out already!" the mercenary said impatiently.

            "The Rotating Encryption/Password Inversion trick is mine."

            "What?!" Snake growled, "How the Hell is that possible?"

            A heavy sigh could be heard over the codec.  "A person, whom I worked with on the 'Rex Project' about 5 years ago, named Sabren Knight, was an apprentice of mine.  He was fresh out of college, the Valedictorian of his class at Princeton, and landed himself an internship in DARPA.  I really didn't talk to people much, so it was nice having someone around, even though he never had much to say.  Sabren was a quiet person, and really bright.  I taught him all sorts of things, including hacking.  He caught onto that so quickly.  Then, on the day that Liquid and the others took over Shadow Moses, he disappeared.  I always assumed that he was killed.  They had me, so I didn't think that they'd have any reason to keep him around."

            "Hmm," Snake pondered, "I wonder what he's doing here then?"

            "Beats me.  But I have a strange feeling about this."

            "Yeah…," the mercenary said, pulling up the maps of the base and downloading them into his radar.  "Alright.  I think we have a location on those weapons.  We're going to check them out."

            "Good luck," his friend returned.  "I'm headed for the detention area to see if Drs. Raznov and Chetnik are there."

            "Keep in contact with me.  Call if you need my assistance.  Don't get any ideas of taking on the whole base with your M9."

            Otacon snickered.  "Yeah right!  That's your job."

            A wry smile came over Snake's lips.  "Heh.  I suppose it is."

            "Later," Hal returned, ending the transmission.

            Raiden stood beside Snake, waiting for an explanation.

            "What's going on?" he asked.

            "Come on, kid," Snake waved him along, "We've got work to do.  I'll explain on the way."

Author's Notes:

I know absolutely nothing about hacking or the fine details on how encryption works.  I only know what the quick overview at www.howstuffworks.com taught me.  Please bear with my ignorance.


	15. Chapter 15: Dr Raznov

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 15:  Dr. Raznov

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 15:  Dr. Raznov****

            Raiden followed close behind Snake, keeping a careful eye on his surroundings.  Turning another corner, he could have sworn that they were going around in circles, but his radar maps showed him otherwise.  All of the rooms and halls were the same, dull, metallic gray, making it hard to distinguish one place from another.  Solid Snake seemed not to notice, and Raiden was amazed at the seasoned warrior's navigational instincts.  Jack supposed, with a bit of a frown on his face, that something like that couldn't be taught in VR.

            Snake stopped in his tracks, then Raiden heard it too.  There were voices coming from the next room.

            "Over there," the mercenary whispered.  He was pointing to a ventilation shaft over in the corner.

            Jack knew exactly what Snake had in mind.  He removed the grate covering the crawlspace, and then went up inside.

            The mercenary followed him in, crawling at a steady pace on his stomach.

            As they moved further along, the voices grew louder and clearer, echoing throughout the ventilation system.  Up ahead, there was a grate that looked down on the room from above.  Both Dave and Jack squeezed together in such a way so that they could see what was going on.

***

            "_I don't think you quite understand your situation, Dr. Raznov.  Dr. Chetnik is behaving, so why can't you just be a good girl and finish things the right way?_"

            Dr. Anja Raznov propped her hand on her hip, "_I'm not working for 'them',_" she snarled, "_and I never will._"  Her amber eyes blazed with defiance as she threw a harsh look at Yadik.

            "_I'm growing tired of this game.  Finish 'Phase 3' by tomorrow, or it's back to the torture room.  And I doubt,_" Yadik added with a finger pointed right in her face, "_that Genesis will have mercy this time._"

            The young scientist looked down at her bandaged arm, her long red hair falling to partially cover her bruised cheeks.

            "_Good,_" the middle-aged man said with a sneer, "_You let that be your reminder.  By tomorrow, you'd better produce._"  He turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.

            Sliding her back down the wall into a crouched position, Anja sobbed softly into her knees.

            She was suddenly startled by something from above her.  The scientist looked up to see the grate on the ventilation shaft disappear.  Anja curled up tighter into a ball, not knowing what was going to happen to her.  Maybe Genesis had decided to punish her now instead?  Her heart raced and she could feel her temples pulse with every beat.

            Two men dropped down from the opening.  They both wore the same uniform, but she had never seen any of the other soldiers in that type of gear.  She watched them intently as they approached her.

            "_Dr. Raznov?_"

            "_Who wants to know?_" she asked, her voice faltering as her fear began to break through her seemingly iron will.

            "_Someone who's going to get you the Hell outta here,_" Snake said, pulling off his mask.

            Though still suspicious of them, her eyes began to sparkle with hope.  "_Who sent you?  How did you find me?_"

            "_Whoa.  Slow down a minute,_" Solid Snake told her.  "_First of all, are you alright?_"

            Anja nodded, "_For the time being.  My arm's been broken, but it's healing well.  It's been about 2 weeks since my last trip to the torture room._"  She looked over at the other masked person.  "_And you are?_"

            Raiden removed his mask.  "_Me?  Um… Just call me Luc._"

            "_And what can I call you?_" she asked Snake.

            "_Nathair._"

            "_Dr. Anja Raznov,_" the woman formally introduced herself, holding out her good hand, shaking each of the other's.  "_So, how did you find me?  You know, it's not exactly easy to get here._"

            "Luc" put his hand on Anja's shoulder.  "_We hitched a ride on the 'L'yednik',_" he told her, "_then stowed away on a cargo hauler here._"

            "_I see,_" she said understanding.  "_So, who are you with?_"

            "_A private organization,_" Snake answered, "_Mercenaries for hire._"

            "_Mercenaries, huh?_" the scientist frowned, "_I'm not sure that I can trust you, then.  You could be working for another group who has the same intentions that this one does._"

            Snake felt her eyes studying the both of them.  He shrugged, "_You don't have to trust me.  Just think about this though.  What other options do you have?_"

            Dr. Raznov pursed her lips, "_Good point._"

            "_The question now is, where do you want to go after we get you off of this ice ball?  Would you feel safe going back to Russia?_"

            "_I don't know,_" she replied with a sigh.

            Raiden nodded in Snake's direction, and the mercenary knew exactly what he was inferring.

            "_What about the States?_" "Nathair" suggested.

            Anja's brow wrinkled a bit in confusion.  "You're Americans?" she said in richly accented English.

            The men nodded.

            "I never would have guessed.  Your Russian is excellent."

            Snake pointed to his throat, "We've had a little help from technology.  To be honest, my Russian is terrible."

            "Really?  You'll have to show me sometime.  I'm intrigued."

            Raiden looked around the room.  "Where's Dr. Chetnik?"

            Dr. Raznov frowned at the mentioning of her partner's name.  "He's somewhere else.  He's working for them now, willingly even," she told the two men.  "They offered him a lot of money.  They tried to buy me too, but I have more pride than that."

            "Hmm…  Are you sure it's not just an act so that they'll spare his life?" Jack asked her.

            Anja rubbed her forehead to release some of the tension of the past few days.  "I've kicked that idea around myself.  But, if that is the case, then he's really got me convinced.  He's been working double time on his half of the project."

            Snake crossed his arms over his chest.  "What exactly is the 'E. Weapon Project'?"

            The scientist's eyes widened with surprise from their knowledge of the project's codename.  "You've heard of it?"

            He nodded.  "Only by name.  We have no idea what it consists of.  Though a friend and I theorize that it has something to do with Metal Gear."

            "And you know of Metal Gear too?" Anja said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.  "Who are you, really?"

            "Let's just say I've been around the block," Snake answered her.  "Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you."  He tucked his headpiece into his belt, re-tying his bandana around his head.  "So, about the project?"

            "Oh.  Right," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Do you have nanos?"

            "Yes.  That would be safer," Solid Snake agreed.  "What frequency?"

            "141.62"

            Raiden and Snake patched into her frequency.

            "You reading me?" Anja asked.

            "I am," Raiden replied.  "Nathair?"

            "I got you, kid.  Give me a sec, Doc," he told her, holding up a finger.  "There are two others in our party that need to hear this."

            Anja raised an eyebrow, "More of your mercenary friends?"

            "Actually, they're the ones that take care of the more technical aspects of a mission," he corrected.  "They'd understand you better than I would."

            "I suppose I don't have a choice about this either?" Dr. Raznov gave in with a sigh.

            "Don't worry.  They're scientists like you," Raiden assured her.

            "If we're going to destroy the weapons, we're going to need all the help we can get," Snake said, "Especially from you."

            "Destroy the weapons?" she probed for confirmation of what she heard.

            "That's right," he replied.  "Half of our mission is to rescue you and Dr. Chetnik.  The other is to destroy any weapons you created."

            "You really aren't bad people, then."  Anja concluded with a sigh of relief.

            Snake stepped aside for a moment to inform the others of the situation.

            "What's up Snake?" Mei answered her codec.

            "A lot.  You there too Otacon?"

            "Yeah, I'm here," the engineer replied.

            "I found Dr. Raznov," Dave told them, "She's here.  I'm gonna patch you through to her.  She's going to explain about the 'E. Weapon Project'.  We gave her our aliases only, so don't forget to use them."

            "Oh.  Right," Mei said.

            Snake switched over to Anja's frequency.  "Alright.  We're all listening," he told the scientist.

            "Okay," she began, taking in a deep breath to help collect her thoughts.  "I'm assuming then that you all are familiar with Metal Gear?"

            "Mhmm," Otacon verbally nodded.  "Go on Dr. Raznov."

            "Well, the 'E. Weapon Project's' full name is 'Evolved Weapon Project'.  It is a project divided into two parts.  The first part is Dr. Chetnik's specialty:  advanced arms design.  He has studied the plans from just about every incarnation of Metal Gear ever created.  Now, he's combining that knowledge with a few of his other tricks to create 'Metal Gear Shadow'."

            "Metal Gear," Snake hissed.  "Why does that not surprise me?"

            Hal's breathing became shallower as his heart began to sink.  He swallowed hard, trying his best to pay attention despite the guilt he was feeling.

            Anja walked over to her desk and pulled out her chair.  She turned it around to face the others, then sat down.  "Metal Gear Shadow is built from a synthetic metal alloy called 'Polyalkasynthium'.  It combines the strength and positive properties of several metals.  It is virtually impenetrable from the impact of bullets and small missiles such as Stingers.  Polyalkasynthium is dark gray in color, almost black."

            "So that's why it's called 'Metal Gear Shadow'?" Raiden asked.

            "Partially.  Though more so because of what it can do."

            "I'm almost afraid to ask," Snake said, letting out a low growl.

            "With built in stealth camo and thermal camouflaging, Metal Gear Shadow can render itself invisible to almost any type of instrument," Dr. Raznov explained.

            The other four were silent.  An invisible Metal Gear…

            "Shadow is nuclear-capable and carries many of the same types of weapons that 'Rex' and 'Ray did such as a rail gun and belly laser.  It can travel by land, by sea, or by air.  It is the ultimate weapon."

            "What?!" Snake exclaimed.

            Anja looked down at her feet.  "There's more."

            Hal swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "More?"

            "Yes.  That was just Dr. Chetnik's half of the project.  My half is…"

            Raiden's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he passed out, falling to the floor, hard.  Snake turned around in an instant, his gun pointed in the direction of the shot, but it was too late.  He had already been hit with a tranquillizer dart.  The room spun around him as he began to lose consciousness.  The last thing he heard was the panicked screams of Dr. Raznov, and the frantic beeping of his codec echoing in his ears.

***

            Hal's eyes were swollen as he cried.  He tried Snake's personal frequency again and again, praying for an answer.  "Snake!  God, no!  Snaaaaake!"

Author's Notes:

"Polyalkasynthium" is a made up material.  I got the name this way:

            Poly- Meaning many.  This material is made from the strength of several metals.

            Alka- Referring to the Alkali Metals on the periodic table.  A particularly reactive group, they usually combine themselves with other elements in nature.

            Synthium- A morphed form of the word 'synthetic'.


	16. Chapter 16: Double Reunion

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 16:  Double Reunion

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 16:  Double Reunion****

****

            "Wake up."

            "Was someone speaking to me?" Snake wondered through a clouded, aching head.  He drifted along the edge of consciousness, trying desperately to open his eyes.  Managing to do so for a brief moment, he could see nothing but the ceiling and a fluorescent light panel blaring down on him.  Snake re-closed his eyes, the light too bright to bear.  The mercenary moved on to test his motor skills.  His fingers twitched a bit, but they were numb and tingly.

            "Damn it, Knight.  Get him up!" the same voice said.

            Yes, this time Snake was sure he had heard someone speak.

            "I've given him another dose of the adrenal stimulators.  He should be coming to anytime soon."

            There were now two voices in the room with him.

            Snake felt his heart begin to beat faster, and with the new surge of blood-carried oxygen to his brain, things seemed to come into focus.  He found himself able to flex the muscles in his limbs, but he noticed for the first time that he was held down by four-point restraints.  Solid Snake tested their integrity with a few unsuccessful attempts to pull himself free.

            "Oh, you're not going anywhere, I'm afraid," the first voice taunted him.

            He gritted his teeth.  From the feel of the cool smoothness of on his wrists and ankles, Snake realized that it was metal that imprisoned him.  

The air around him was cool, causing him to shiver a bit.  Finding the strength to open his eyes once more, the captured man lifted his head off of the metal bed and looked down at himself.  His body was naked, displayed to whoever was in the room with him.  Losing control of his neck muscles, Snake's head fell back down, and he closed his eyes again.

The table shifted, raising itself into a vertical position.  The prisoner could now take in his surroundings.  They were all too familiar to him.  Solid Snake was in a torture room.

"Leave us.  Go and see if you can assist Dr. Chetnik with anything."

"I was on my way there now.  Call if you need my assistance," the second voice said.  His footsteps were heard heading further away from the torture rack, then a door opened and shut.

For a moment, the room was silent, with only the sound of the heating system whirring in Snake's ears.  He didn't know what to expect, but it couldn't be good.

***

            Otacon beat his fists on the floor repeatedly.  "Damn it, Snake.  Why'd you have to go and leave me too?"

            His glasses fogged up as he cried.  His heart wrenched as his mind played out one gruesome scenario of Dave's death after another.

            Mei Ling tried her best to keep him together.  "Please, Otacon.  You've got to keep your head straight.  If Snake and Raiden are dead, then it's all up to you.  I know you can do it."

            "I can't," he sobbed.  "I can't do this anymore."

            "If you don't, more people will surely die.  Could you live with that?" she argued.

            "Maybe I won't live at all," Hal suggested.

            Mei gasped, "Don't talk like that.  Besides, you don't know that they're dead.  They may have been captured for questioning.  You could still save them."

            Hal took off his glasses and wiped his eyes.  "Me?" he scoffed, "What could I do?  I don't even know what I'm doing here."

            "Sure you do," Mei Ling told him.  "Remember:  'It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide what to do.'  You had very strong reasons for going.  Even Snake could see that.  You need to remind yourself of that reason, and decide to push onward."

            "I came…to…" he hesitated, memories of Snake assaulting his mind.  "I came to protect him.  I know it sounds crazy, but I did."

            "Otacon."

            "Yeah?" he sniffled.

            "Then go protect him."

***

            Light footsteps approached the table.

            "Welcome to Antarctica, Solid Snake.  I thought you'd never get here."

            "Who the Hell are you?"

            The person walked around the rack, then stood in front of him so he could see her face.  Something about her was very familiar, but Snake couldn't place it anywhere.

            "Your eyes shine with recognition as I knew they would," the woman said, "As they should."  She leaned in to get a closer look at her prisoner.  "It's even more amazing to look into your eyes than Liquid's or Solidus'."

            Snake narrowed his eyes.  "What the Hell are you babbling about?"

            "Alas, we're a dying breed.  Despite the powerful genetic make-up of Big Boss' children, one of them is gone, and the other only survives as an essence in his arm, attached to another man.  You're the only one I have left to count on."

            The woman stared into Snake's eyes.  Hers were the same vibrant green, piercing and beautiful.  Her hair was chestnut brown, just below shoulder length in the back and slowly layering shorter to the top.  The woman's body was perfect; chiseled like a soldier's.  She had her shirt tied up underneath her full chest, revealing her streamlined abdomen.  Her black pants rested on her hips, clinging tightly to her legs.  A trace of cigarette smoke danced on her breath, reawakening a deep craving for nicotine.

            She smiled.  "You, the last of 'The Sons of Big Boss', and his only 'daughter', Genesis Snake:  Me."

            "What?!" Solid shouted, "That's impossible!"

            "It's not impossible," Genesis returned.  "It's quite simple, really.  Just replace a 'Y' chromosome with another 'X' and male becomes female."

            "Great," Snake snorted, "Another family reunion."

            Genesis crossed her arms.  "I never got a chance to meet Liquid.  Fox Die killed him before I even had the chance.  And Solidus?  Well, that was a bit more complicated.  The meeting didn't go exactly as planned.  So, you can see why I was so looking forward to our meeting."

            "So why not just kill me?  What're you keeping me around for?"

            The lady Snake smiled, "I thought you'd never ask."

***

            Raiden found himself locked inside a narrow cell, its walls made up of reinforced glass.  Jack looked around.  He was at the end of the row.  In the cell next to him, a man in a tube floated in some sort of strange blue liquid, his face and body equipped with cybernetic implants; one on his cheek, one around his arm, and one around his neck.  Looking down the line, Raiden saw three other cells with such tubes, but they were unoccupied.

            "Good Morning, Jack.  Sleep well?" a voice said to him.

            Raiden turned around to see a woman who had the same kind of implants that he had seen on the man next to him.  Her skin was medium brown, but it had an almost bluish tint to it.  Her eyes were blue-violet, sparkling like the sky at twilight.

As she breathed, clouds of condensation billowed out.  Jack was naked underneath the blanket that he had draped around him.  Despite that, he didn't think it was one bit cold in the room.  He breathed out hard, but his breath was transparent.

"You haven't forgotten me, have you?" she said to him.

Jack looked at the woman more closely.  Then, the familiar blue-black shine in her hair sparked his memory.  But, how was that possible?

"Diane?" he ventured.

She shook her head.  "Diane died years ago in Africa.  I am Frost:  merely a shadow of who she once was."

Jack was confused.  "I don't understand.  Diane, what have they done to you?"

"Oh these?" Frost asked, pointing to the blinking lights on the metal plate that was attached to her cheek.  "Genesis has given me everything Solidus took away from us:  our friends, our dignity, our lives…"

Jack's eyebrows knitted, "What do you mean?"

"Look next to you.  Do you recognize him?" she asked, pointing to the man in the next cell.

Raiden looked him over again, another memory returning.  "Wait.  Is that…?"

"Robert?  Yes," Frost confirmed.

Jack was thoroughly clueless.  "What's going on?"

"All of us fought in the same wars, endured the same abuse, day in and day out.  But now, we're the ones who'll put the fear in others.  We don't have to be afraid anymore.  Genesis has made us powerful."  Frost leaned in closer, her breath fogging up the glass.

"You're wrong," Raiden told her.  "This Genesis, or whoever, just made you into another puppet, another instrument of war."

"What would you know?" she snapped.  "You disappeared and forgot about us.  You've forgotten the pain."

Raiden crossed his arms over his chest.  "I remember it.  I remember it all too well.  There isn't a night that goes by when I don't dream about the screaming, the hunger, and the blood.  But I use that pain to make a difference in this world.  You're just going to help someone else cause more suffering."

"No.  You're wrong.  Once 'they' put the world in order, there will be no more need for war.  Genesis promised me.  Of course there will be some sacrifices, but the children will finally be free."  Frost's eyes became intense.

"What do you want with me?"

"You're a part of our squadron, Jack.  You were a child soldier, forced to put your life down for the greedy ambitions of man.  Now you have a chance to fight for something good.  Join us."  She placed her hand on the glass, and a ring of condensation formed around it.  "I missed you.  The day I was captured, I thought I'd never see you again."

"You've changed.  What happened to your spirit?  You used to be a person I could look up to," Raiden said.  He turned his back to her, his eyes fogged over with the precursor of tears.  "I guess you're right.  Diane did die in Africa.  I guess I'll never see her again."

"Just wait.  You'll see everything as I do.  Then we can fight alongside each other, just like we did in the old days.  And this time, I promise it'll be different," Frost told him.

"I won't fight.  So whatever it is you have planned for me, forget about it.  You might as well just kill me," he snarled.

Frost walked towards the door.  Before she parted, she sighed.  "Welcome home, Jack."  Then she left, and Raiden was alone again with his thoughts.

***

            Otacon traveled back to Snake's last known location to begin his search.  Despite his unusual pessimism about the situation, he pushed on.  He came to the room that had held Dr. Raznov.  The door was unlocked, and he went inside.  Just as he had suspected, it was empty.  Hal let out a frustrated sigh.  "Where could he be?"

            Footsteps echoed in the corridor.  Somebody was coming.

            Cloaked in his stealth camo, he exited the room into the hall again.  Two soldiers were making their way in his direction, chatting amongst themselves.  Otacon took the opportunity to listen in.

            "What?!  The 'Legendary Solid Snake', here?!"

            "Yeah.  That's what I heard.  Genesis has him locked up in the torture room."

            "I'm so glad I didn't have a run-in with him."

            "You can say that again.  Two of us have already turned up dead, and who knows how many others are unaccounted for."

            "Gives me the shivers…"

            "The torture room," Hal thought to himself.  "Why didn't I think about that before?"  He swallowed hard, thinking about all of the things that they were potentially doing to him.

            "I'm coming for you, Snake.  Just hang on."

Author's Notes:

Secrets are revealed.  That's about all I can say about this chapter.


	17. Chapter 17: Agony

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 17:  Agony

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  R for language and strong sexual content and rape. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 17:  Agony****

****

            Genesis Snake pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her shirt pocket.  She lit one up, drawing the smoke in deep.

            Solid Snake watched her.  "I could really use one of those, right now," he thought to himself.

            As if reading his mind, Genesis placed the lit cigarette between her prisoner's lips.  She then took out another one for herself.

            Snake puffed it graciously.  Despite the tension from his current situation, at least he didn't have that nagging hunger for nicotine to worry about anymore.

            "Why were we created?" Genesis asked, smoke lining her words.

            "To be used as pawns in somebody's sick game," Snake growled.

            "Pawns?" she pondered, "Perhaps."  The woman shifted her posture to favor her left foot, moving to rest her hand on the other hip.  "The real reason we were created was to pass on a legacy:  Big Boss' Legacy.  He was the ultimate soldier.  It's no wonder that 'they' didn't want his candle to burn out without another to carry its flame."

            Dave frowned.  What was she getting at?  None of this was new to him.

            "The problem with cloning and the tampering with genetics is that you always come out with something a little less than perfect, no matter how identical the genes may appear to be," Genesis explained, gesturing in her 'brother's' direction.  "Take you for example:  A perfect clone of Big Boss, yet engineered specifically to show the dominant traits only.  And Liquid, engineered to show only the recessive traits.  Your phenotype has been altered.  You are not a perfect clone of Big Boss, and obviously, neither am I."

            Snake took another drag on his cigarette.  "So what?"

            Genesis' mouth turned upwards again into that particularly icy grin of hers.  "So, nature cannot make a selection."  She paused for a moment, staring into the eyes of the mercenary hard.  "This time, we'll let nature decide the perfect soldier."

            "This time?" Snake said questioningly.  "What the Hell are you talking about?"

            "You and I will fulfill Big Boss' Legacy, and begin one of our own.  We'll produce the next generation of perfect soldiers the way nature would've intended."

            Snake laughed mockingly, ashes falling from his half-burned cigarette with each heave of his diaphragm.  "Sorry to spoil your plans for a happy family, but you've forgotten one important thing."

            Genesis crosses her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.  "Oh?  What's that?"

            "Well, I don't know how you were engineered, but I'm sterile," he sneered.

            The lady Snake walked up to Solid, wrapping a warm hand around his genitals.  "You say that with such confidence," she purred into his ear, "but I'm afraid that you're wrong."

            Snake's defiant smile faded to a very neutral look.  "What do you mean?"

            "When you were created.  Your genes were programmed by means of gene mutation to produce 'smart sperm'.  These sperm were constructed to recognize and reproduce only with an egg containing a specific DNA sequence:  Big Boss'.  Alongside all of my 'brothers', I was born:  the only woman alive who could bear the grandchildren of Big Boss."  Genesis snuffed out her cigarette on the torture rack, right beside Snake's cheek.

            "The original plan was to have me mate with Solidus, since he carried the perfect balance.  But, when I was sent to reintroduce myself to him as his 'sister' and present him with the facts, he spat in my face.  He told me to send the Patriots a message that he would have nothing to do with any of their schemes.  Apparently he had gone renegade."

            Snake let out a low growl.  "So this is all the Patriots' doing?"

            "Naturally," Genesis confirmed, "They are the leaders of the world.  They need soldiers like us to help them in their endeavors."

            The lady Snake went over to the computer in the front of the room and pulled a disk from its drive.  "Do you know what this is?" she asked, holding it up.

            Snake examined the disk in Genesis' hand.  It had a label at the top reading "S3".  An uneasy feeling came over him as he remembered where he had heard that expression before.

            "S3:  Solid Snake Simulation," he replied.

            "Very good," Genesis praised her prisoner.  "And now that I know that you've heard of S3, I'm sure you know what the program does?"

            "It's a program made to simulate my mission at Shadow Moses through the trials of Jack."

            "Yes.  And we will use the program to train our children.  Not only will they carry the genetic legacy, but they will also be raised with the heart of a soldier."

            Genesis untied her shirt and slipped it off.  Tossing it aside, she began to remove her gun belt and boots.

            Snake felt the table once again recline itself, placing him in a horizontal position.  It became quite apparent to the captive that his jailer had intended to get down to business right away.

***

            Otacon's heart fluttered when he saw a familiar blue silhouette on his radar screen.

            "Snake…" he murmured.

            He moved quickly towards the signal until he came to the torture room at the end of a hall.  There was a window in the metal door, and Hal stood on his tiptoes to peer inside.  Otacon was shocked and confused at what he saw.

            A naked woman straddled a bound and equally disrobed Snake.  She was enthusiastically riding him, the sounds of her loud panting coming through even the thick metal of the door.

            Hal turned his attention to Snake.  His eyes were closed, a look of disgust written across his face as he was being raped.

            Otacon stood there helpless.  "What am I going to do?"

            He was so engulfed in thinking of a way to save his friend that he didn't notice a man walk up behind him.  A gun pressed into his back.

            "Still hiding behind that stealth camo, Emmerich?" someone asked.

            "Knight?" Hal whispered, trembling.  He tried his best to stay together even though his fear was beginning to take over.

            "You remember me then?" Sabren Knight said.

            "Why are you doing this?" Otacon asked him.

            A pistol whip to the back of his head was his only answer.

***

            A half an hour later, the door to the detention area opened.  Raiden turned to see three people enter the room.  Frost was first, followed by Dr. Raznov.  Behind the doctor, with a gun drawn and aimed at her head, was another woman.  She was somewhat shorter than the other two.  Her brown hair was curled under right above her shoulders, and her eyes were gray, splattered with just the right amount of blue highlights.  She seemed to be very interested in the prisoner at the end of the row, and she stared long and hard into Raiden's eyes.

            The reason for her interest became very clear the moment she spoke.

            "Jack."

            The face didn't match the voice, but her tone was unmistakable.

            "Rose?" he said, almost breathless with disbelief.

            "You should've just stayed out of trouble," his ex-girlfriend chastised.  "Why couldn't you just be satisfied being a father?"

            He narrowed his eyes to mere slits, his hatred for her reaching new heights.  "Because a father must protect his son from the evils in the world that people like you and 'Frost' are responsible for," the prisoner snapped.

            Raiden's mind began to whirl.  Rose was still working for the Patriots.  "How could I have been so gullible?" he scolded himself.

            Then his heart palpitated as his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

            "Where's Iroquois?" Jack demanded.

            "Safe," Rose answered, "But if you ever want to see him again, you're going to have to cooperate."

            "Damn you!" the captive shouted, pounding his fists against the glass.  His rage was slowly boiling over.  "Give me back my son!"

            "Our son," Rose reminded him.

            "I swear if I ever get the chance, I'll fucking slit your throat! Do you hear me?!  I'll kill you!" Raiden growled like a vicious animal.  He continued pounding the glass wall that held him.  The skin on his knuckles was splitting open from the repeated impacts.  Red now began to stain the clear material.  He felt no pain, and was not aware of his state of madness.  All Raiden could think about was his beautiful baby boy.

            "You won't kill me, Jack.  I am the only one who knows where to find Iroquois," Rose stated plainly.  "Now calm yourself and submit.  If you do so, then you can see your son."

            The pounding stopped and Raiden lowered his head.  Tears of pain and anger splashed on the floor.  He had no choice.  If he was ever going to see Iroquois again, then he'd have to give in.  At least, for now…

            "Do whatever you want to me," he spoke sadly.  "I'll cooperate."

            "That's a good boy, Jack," Rosemary sneered.  She turned her head to face Dr. Raznov.

            "Start the preparations."

***

            Solid Snake laid helplessly on the metal bed.  Despite his utter disgust with the woman on top of him, his body was being far too honest with itself.  He had a firm erection, and it had held its vertical position for quite some time now.

            Genesis continued the raping without so much as a break in her steady rhythm.  Her well-trained body would not quit.

            Solid Snake gritted his teeth.  Though she may not give out, he surely would soon, and it wouldn't be by choice either.

            Genesis bit her lip to silence her cries of pleasure.  She was thoroughly enjoying this, that fact well apparent to her victim by the amount of moisture she was producing.

            Dave clenched his teeth harder, his climax close.

            The lady Snake could feel the muscles of the man beneath her begin to tense up.  She moved faster, rocking her hips back and forth as she went up and down.

            Solid Snake was pushed over the edge, as he released his seed inside of her.  At the same time, Genesis threw her head back, screaming out in a fit of passion, the successful conquest of her 'brother' causing her to orgasm.

            The woman removed her body from his, and picked her clothes up off of the floor.  She dressed herself, then grabbed another cigarette.

            "Did you enjoy that?"

            Snake didn't reply.  He lay on the bed with his eyes closed, trying desperately to forget the events of the past forty-five minutes or so.

            Genesis blew her prisoner a kiss as she left the room.

            "Good night, brother."

Author's Notes:

Chapter 17:  On a personal note, I'd like to say that I HATE Rose, so I write her character best as evil.  

Most of you are probably scratching your heads saying, "Wait a minute!  If two people from the same gene pool breed, doesn't that cause birth defects?"  The answer to that is this:

            The reason why there is a higher rate of birth defects when two people from the same gene pool breed is because inherited recessive genetic defects, that may not show because a person has a dominant gene to cancel out that defect, are easily passed on when two people who both carry that recessive gene get together. There is then a 50/50 chance of having a child with the double recessive combination causing the defect.

Big Boss was the perfect soldier, so I assume that he has perfect genes, the recessive genes not being those that carry defects.  So, if Genesis and Solid were to have a child, there would be no worries about genetic defects.

God… I read too much, don't I?  I'm such a nerd! Hehehehehe!!!


	18. Chapter 18: Hypothermia

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 18:  Hypothermia

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 18:  Hypothermia****

****

            Otacon awoke, finding himself on the floor.  He couldn't move.  His body had gone numb.  His breath could be seen, clouds of condensation trailing upwards to the ceiling with each exhalation.

            He was shivering violently, making his muscles sore.  It was so cold in there.  Hal shifted his eyes downward.  He was still wearing his special sub-zero climate sneaking suit.  So, why was he so damned cold?

            The engineer forced himself to sit up, fighting the powerful spasms of his trembling body.  He looked at the back of his suit.  The computer control system had been removed.  Somebody wanted him to freeze to death.

            His codec rang.

            Otacon's heart began to beat faster as he hoped for it to be his friend calling.  He hoped that Snake would tell him that he had escaped, and that he was coming for him.  But the man on the other end of the line was not Snake.

            "Nice to see a familiar face, Hal."

            "S…sabren," he replied, coughing.  The cold air was beginning to burn his lungs.  "W…what…t's…s g…oing on…n?"

            "I'm going to make you an offer," he told him.

            Otacon hugged himself, rubbing his arms to generate some frictional heat.  "W…hat…t kind o…f off…fer?" he asked, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

            "In exchange for your life, we want your help on the 'E. Weapon Project," Sabren explained.  "After all, almost nobody knows Metal Gear better than you."

            "N…never," the scientist came back defiantly.  He got to his feet, jogging in place to get his heart rate up.

            "Don't be so hasty with your decision," Dr. Knight warned.  "I'll give you some time to consider it."

            The transmission ended, and Hal was left to think.

            He didn't think about escaping.

            He didn't think about saving his own hide by allowing himself to continue tainting his bloodline with further work on a nuclear monster.

            He only thought about how he wished he could see Dave, one last time, before he would die.

***

            Raiden opened his eyes, waking from the anesthesia.  He was lying on a surgical table, his arms and legs strapped down.  It didn't matter anyway.  A powerful cocktail of narcotics was still running through his veins, making his muscles limp and weak.

            Everything around him moved in slow motion, trails giving things a surreal look.  The sounds around him echoed in his ears.

            Raiden took notice of the clouds of water vapor escaping from his mouth, the same way he had seen it from Diane.  He didn't feel cold at all, strangely enough, though he was still unclothed.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught glimpse of some flickering lights.  At first, he thought that it was the drugs' effect on him, but as he forced himself to focus, Raiden could see a cybernetic implant in his arm.  His peripherals picked up on another on his right cheek.

            "Excellent," he heard Rose say.  "I'll be back later to check on his progress."

            Raiden closed his eyes.  His head ached and his ears were ringing.

            No. That wasn't his ears ringing.  It was his codec.

            Surprisingly, a hand pressed behind his ear, activating the call for him.

            "Jack?  Is that your real name?" Dr. Raznov inquired.

            "Yes, it is," he answered her.

            She sighed and looked down at him.  "I'm sorry about the implants.  I was forced to do it."

            "I understand."

            "They're totally reversible though.  I made sure to that."

            Jack smiled weakly, "Thanks."  He tried to regard the doctor's face, but her image blurred in and out of focus.  Damned drugs.

            "I have a plan to get you and your friend out of here," she told him.  "It just might work, but I'll need your help."

            Raiden lazily raised an eyebrow.  "How so?"

            "We're going to take Shadow," she told him, "but I need you to pilot it."

            "Me?" Jack said, confused.  "Why me?  You're the scientist."

            "I know, but you're the only one wired for the job."

            Dr. Raznov watched as the patient's face wrinkle with bewilderment.

            "I don't understand, doctor," he said.

            "Please.  Call me Anja," the woman asked of him.  "I don't deserve the title of 'doctor' after all that I've done."  She buried her face in her hand, clearly distraught from the events of the past few months.

            "Anja," Raiden spoke, softly and reassuringly, "It wasn't your fault.  They'd have killed you if you hadn't done it."

            She shook her head, wiping a few tears away.  "No.  They won't kill me.  That's the whole thing.  They need me alive to complete the 'E. Weapon Project'.  They'll just continue to torture me until I finally give in."

            "What is your part in the project?  Why do they need you so badly?  You never got a chance to tell me," Raiden asked.

            "I am a specialist in genetics and cybernetics.  One of my projects, back in Russia, was finding a way to prevent hypothermia in Army soldiers who were positioned in the far north.  Through extensive research, I found that I could safely lower the body temperature to 2.25 °C, or 36 °F for you Americans, without disrupting normal function of one's organs.  With cybernetic implants, I created an insulation system for your bloodstream by feeding intravenously an anti-freeze agent.  The implants also speed up the natural slow down of electrical impulses running through your body when a person begins to develop hypothermia.  This allows the heart and other organs to maintain peak performance."  She pointed to Raiden's steaming breath.  "This explains why your breath is visible.  Your body temperature is just a hair above freezing."

            Raiden nodded.  He tried his best to follow her, but his mind was clouded and everything felt out of place.  A small bit of drool began to trickle down the side of his mouth.  He tried to sweep it back into his mouth with the tip of his tongue.  Anja caught this, and dabbed it away for him with a tissue.

            The patient blushed with embarrassment.  "Thanks."

            "Don't worry about it," she told him, patting his shoulder.

            "So, how does this coincide with Metal Gear Shadow?" he probed for further information.

            "Ah, well, creating the 'Elements' was just Phase 1 of my half of the project," Anja began again.

            "The 'Elements'?"

            "That's what Genesis codenamed the others who were undergoing this procedure," the scientist explained.  "Phase 2 was to add the telepathy programming to the cybernetic implants."

            "Telepathy?"

            Anja smiled grimly.  "I know this is all so strange.  Just bear with me, Jack."

            She sighed deeply before continuing.  "Ask yourself this:  'What if Metal Gear could not be hijacked by the enemy?'  You would have a complete monopoly over the technology it possessed, correct?"

            Raiden gave a verbal nod.  "Mmhmm."

            "Passwords can be cracked, so that wouldn't be a good way to protect it.  So, how do you prevent the enemy from piloting Metal Gear?  You create a program in Metal Gear that only allows pilots with a certain body temperature to activate the systems."

            "I'm beginning to understand the reason behind the anti-hypothermia technology in this project," Raiden said.

            Anja pointed to an outlet in Jack's cheek implant.  "This is the outlet to which Metal Gear's mainframe connects.  These implants translate electrical signals in your brain to commands, then in turn controls Metal Gear.  This allows a pilot to control 'Shadow' completely hands free, by telepathy."

            "That's amazing!" Jack said, his eyes widened in awe.  "I can see now why the RNF wanted you so badly."

            Anja frowned.  "Sometimes I wish I weren't considered a 'genius'."

            "When my partner and I were listening in on the conversation between you and Dr. Yadik, he mentioned something about finishing Phase 3.  What's Phase 3?"

            "It's the last part of the project: To complete a successful test run of all of the systems.  Including a nuclear weapons test.  They want me to use Shadow to sneak up on Washington D.C. and launch a missile at the White House."

            "What?!" he exclaimed.  "That's barbaric."

            "That's why I suggested taking Shadow.  That way, when we get where we're going, I can run the self-destruct sequence, and Metal Gear Shadow will be no more.  And without my further assistance with the cybernetics, I doubt they'd be able to recreate another."

            "That sounds like a plan," Jack stated.

            "Tonight, I'm going to tell Yadik that I've decided to cooperate.  He'll then allow me access to the hangar with the pilot of my choosing.  I'll choose you, so they won't be suspicious of you walking around the base, and we'll pick up your friend.  We'll start up Metal Gear, activate its stealth and thermo camouflaging, and we'll get the Hell outta here."

            "Actually," Raiden corrected her, "there are two people we'll need to collect along the way.  One of the scientists that was on the codec with us while you were explaining about Metal Gear, is on location.  He's in stealth camo, so hopefully, he's found a way to get 'Nathair' out of trouble."

            "I see," she said.  "Well then see if you can get in contact with your friends.  It'd get things moving faster if we know exactly where to find them."

            "Alright."

            Anja reached over to her tray and picked up a syringe filled with clear liquid.  She stuck it in a vein on the underside of her patient's forearm, injecting the contents.  "This will counter the effects of the narcotics.  You should be more alert in just a few seconds."

            Jack could almost instantly feel some strength returning to him, and the spinning room finally slowed to a halt.

            "Alright, I'm signing off.  I'm going to try my friends," he told her.

            "I'll be right here," Dr. Raznov returned, ending her transmission.

            Raiden tried calling Snake first, but there was no answer.

            Then, he tried Otacon.

***

            Hal Emmerich's codec rang again.

            "R…raiden?"

            "Yeah, Otacon.  It's me.  We're getting out of here.  Dr. Raznov's helping us.  Where's Snake?"

            Hal's eyes lowered in disappointment.  "You m…mean…n he's…s n…ot with you?"

            "No."

            "I s…s…s…ee."

            "Otacon, what's wrong?  Your voice keeps breaking up."

            He thought back to the scene he had witnessed in the torture room.  Snake, raped by an obviously twisted captor; the look of disgust and pain on his face.  It burned through Hal's soul.  His eyes were wet with tears.

            "N…oth…th..ing's wro…ong," he insisted, teeth chattering.  "Jus…st g…go  find S…snak…ke."

            "Tell me where you are first."  Jack said.  "You sound like you're in trouble."

            "S…save S…s…n…ake.  Then…n  I'll…l tell you wher..re I…I am…m, if…f I'm st…till alive."

            "Otacon!"

            "Hurr..r…ry.  Snake m…may be in…n  g…reat…t danger."

            "Otacon!"

            Hal ended the call.  There was still a chance for Dave.  Raiden could save him.  Hal smiled thinly, thankful for this ray of hope.

            His expression melted back to sadness as he thought about his failure.  He had failed to do what he had sworn to do.

            "I'm s…s…sorr…ry I could…dn't p…protect y…ou," he whispered into the freezing air.  "S…sn…n…ak…ke…"

            Then everything faded to black.

Author's Notes:

Chapter 18:  This chapter includes a lot of explanations of hypothetical technologies.  I don' t know if any of this is possible, but this is fiction, so I suppose they could be.  Please bear with my minimal science knowledge.


	19. Chapter 19: Insurrection

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 19:  Insurrection

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for violence (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 19:  Insurrection__

            "_Smart girl,_" Yadik said.  "_You will not regret your decision to help us complete the project._"

            "_I don't like it at all,_" she returned, "_but I don't seem to have much of a choice in this matter.  Now you're certain I'll get the 150 million Rubles you promised?_"

            Yadik held up his index finger.  "_Only if you stay another six months to oversee the production of ninety-nine more Metal Gears and their pilots._"

            The scientist lowered her eyes to the ground.  "_Fine._"

            "_Excellent,_" he said, clasping his hands together.  "_I expect a full report on the initial tests by 2300 hours.  Then we'll arm the nuke and perform the final test._"

            Anja sighed.  "_As you wish._"

            Yadik turned to leave, "_I'll see you at 2300._"

***

            "What?!" Frost exclaimed.  "Why?"

            "He's cooperating now, but for how long?" Genesis pondered.  "I've changed my mind.  I think it's best to just kill him.  There are plenty of others from your old squadron that you can collect."

            "Didn't you receive orders that he was supposed to stay alive?" Diane asked.

            "That's not your concern," the lady Snake told her firmly, narrowing her eyes in warning.  "You just worry about following your orders.  Dispose of Jack immediately, understood?"

            Frost sighed deeply, white vapor swirling as she forcefully exhaled.  "Understood."

            She turned to leave.

            "One more thing."

            "Yes?"

            "I want you to personally handle the job," Genesis added.

            Diane said nothing in response, and left.

            Genesis felt a pair of arms encircling her waist.

            "Are you sure that's wise, Eve?" Sabren asked her.

            The woman turned to face him.  "I'm taking over this operation," she stated.  "It's time for a shift in power.  To Hell with their orders."

            Genesis drew on her cigarette, pulling the smoke in deep.  She blew the smoke out of her nose much the way a dragon would.  "The children of Big Boss are the whole reason why they were able to accomplish their goals, but yet we get no recognition.  We're puppets, just as anyone else is.  I'm starting a new world order.  I will destroy the Patriots and then we will take their place."

            "You're insane!  Nobody fights the Patriots and wins," Sabren said.  "Aren't there other ways to get recognition?"  He looked at her with his deep brown eyes.  "I don't want to lose you."

            Eve smiled, running her fingers through Sabren's long, jet-black ponytail.  "Don't worry.  We've got Metal Gear Shadow, and a whole army willing to die for us.  And soon, we'll have an entire arsenal of Metal Gears to protect us."

            Sabren frowned.  "I don't know, Eve.  It's rather risky."

            "But think of the rewards!" she rebutted.  "Wouldn't it be nice to rule the entire world and get the respect we deserve?"

            The woman leaned in to kiss his lips, but he stopped her with his hand.

            "What's the matter?" Genesis asked, knitting her brow.

            "I just can't stop thinking about you and Solid Snake.  I hate the fact that someone else had you."

            Eve danced her fingers on his chest.  "Come on," she urged.  "It's not like he wanted it to happen.  And I only did it for the cause.  I owe my father that much, at least."  She took his earlobe into her mouth, nibbling gently on it.  "I need you," she purred softly.

            Sabren gave into his desire, despite his reservations and swept his lover up in his arms, kissing her passionately.

***

            Frost went back to her quarters and sat down on her bunk.  She pulled a box containing Jack's things over to her and looked through it.

            There was his sneaking suit.  Frost ran her cold hands over the seemingly seamless material.  It was beautifully constructed and, she noted with a slight smile on her face, that it smelled pleasantly like him too.

            Diane next unsheathed his blade, testing out the balance with a few swipes.  "Jack was always great with a sword," she thought, remembering his combat style from their childhood.  "I could never quite get the hang of these things…"

            At the bottom of the box was a leather pouch.  Frost picked it up and opened it.  Inside was a photograph of an infant boy.  He was lying in Jack's arms with a great big, toothless smile on his face.  He was dressed in a blue layette with little white lambs on it.  It complimented his big blue eyes.  He had his father's beautiful eyes.

            A tear ran down Frost's cheek.

            "Don't worry," she told the baby in the picture.  "I won't let you become an orphan like your father and I were."

***

            "You called, Genesis?"  Rose asked, stepping into the woman's private quarters.

            "Yes, I did."  She gestured towards the couch.  "Please, have a seat."

            Rosemary sat down.

            "I was just wondering if you've heard anything new from your superiors?" Genesis asked.

            She shook her head.  "No, though I do expect to be hearing from them soon."

            "I see," she said, resting her hand on her chin.  "And how is Jack doing with his new implants?"

            "Remarkably well," replied Rose.  "From the looks of it, he won't have to spend any time in the tube to heal."

            "Excellent," she said.

            "How about your project?"

            Genesis laughed.  "Project?  Well I suppose you could call it that."  She placed her hand on her abdomen, caressing it softly.  "I'm almost certain that it was a success.  I ovulated this morning.  That's why I was so anxious when I called you yesterday.  I didn't want to wait around until next month to try again."

            "How's Dr. Knight taking it?"

            "Pretty well, considering the circumstances."

            "That's good," said Rose, looking at her watch.  "Well, I should check in on the 'good doctor' and her patient."  She headed for the door.

            "Rose?"

            She turned her head to look back.  "Yes…?"

            Rosemary saw the gun, but by that point it was too late.  She didn't hear it fire due to the attached suppressor.  She only felt the white hot fire of the bullet as it burst through her skull.  Still alive, she reached for her own gun, but Genesis fired again, this time leaving a hole in her hand.  And just to be sure, she shot another bullet into her heart.

            The woman's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood.  Rose was dead.

            Sabren came out of the washroom in a robe, brushing his teeth.  He looked over at the corpse, then at Genesis.

            "I've gotten rid of the Patriots' lackey," she explained.

            He nodded and continued to brush his teeth.

            Eve holstered her gun and lit up another cigarette.  She raised it in the air in a kind of mock toast over Rose.

            "To the new world order!"

            She was about to take another drag, but snuffed the cigarette out instead.  Genesis Snake rubbed her stomach again.

            "I've got to take care of you," she said.  "You're my future."

            Eve smiled as she got an idea.  "If you're a boy, I'll call you Cain."

Author's Notes:

Genesis' real name is Eve for a very important reason.  For that matter, the name Genesis Snake stems off of the same thing:  The story of Adam and Eve.  Since Genesis is going to be the mother of a new generation, I found it very appropriate.  And also, the reference to her choosing the name Cain for her future son.  For those of you who really don't know the story of Adam and Eve well, Cain was their son.

Just for your reference:  30 Russian Rubles=1 American Dollar

On another personal note:  "Ding dong the bitch is dead.  Which old bitch?  The wicked bitch!  Ding dong Rosemary is dead!"  Yay! LOL!


	20. Chapter 20: Rescue

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 20:  Rescue

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 20:  Rescue

            Raiden followed behind Dr. Raznov through the seemingly endless halls of the base, each stretch still resembling the last.  He checked his radar screen.  They were definitely somewhere other than where they started.

            Jack had on just a pair of black pants and a pair of black boots.  The scientist had told him that clothing would irritate the skin around the area of his new implants, so he decided to stick to wearing clothes on his bottom half.  They were RNF issue, the only thing she had to give him.  At least he wasn't exposed anymore, he thought.  This was the second time he had been captured and stripped down to his birthday suit.  He wondered why the enemy couldn't do its torturing with his clothes still on.

            Anja stopped and pointed to a door at the end of a corridor.  "That's the torture room," she said.  The woman swallowed hard as memories of her previous visits there resurfaced.

            Raiden went up to the door and looked in the window.  There was Snake, just where Otacon said he'd be.  Noticing Dave's lack of clothing, Jack let a smirk run across his face.  At least he wasn't the only one who had been exposed this time.

            He tried to go in, but the door wouldn't budge.

            "Damn!  It's locked.  How am I supposed to get in?"

            Dr. Raznov came up beside him and got out an access card.  She swiped it through the slot next to the keypad, then typed in her four digit ID code.  The door slid open.

            "Oh, uh… Thanks," Jack said blushing.

            The woman smiled, then waved him in.

            Jack stepped cautiously, looking for signs of others nearby.  It appeared that the coast was clear, but he didn't let down his guard.

            The mercenary was lying, restrained against the metal table.  His eyes were closed, and he looked as if he was sleeping.  As Raiden approached the bed, Snake's eyes popped open, instantly alert to the presence in the room.

            "Come back for more, have ya?" he snarled.

            "Huh? 'Nathair', it's me," Jack told him, walking around into his line of vision.

            "Kid?  How the Hell did you get here?" he asked, relaxing a bit.  "And what the Hell happened to you?" he gestured with his chin at the strange panels of blinking lights.

            "No time to explain," he replied.  "I have Dr… I mean, Anja with me.  We're getting out of here."

            The scientist worked the rack's controls, releasing the prisoner.

            Snake sat up for a moment, rubbing his freed wrists.  "Thanks doc."  He looked around.  "Where's 'Richard'?"

            "He's in trouble," Jack explained, "but he refused to tell me where he was.  He said I had to find you first.  He told me you were in some kind of trouble yourself."

            Snake let out a low growl.  "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle.  I've dealt with worse tortures."

            Dave touched the spot behind his ear to activate his codec.

            "Otacon?  Are you there?  Otacon!"

            There was no answer.  He tried a few more times, but still no answer.

            "Otacon?"

            Something was coming through.  It was hard to make out, but it sounded like raspy breathing.

            "Otacon.  Where are you?" Snake called out to him again.

            He listened for a reply.  His ears picked up on a clacking sound.  It sounded like chattering teeth.

            "S…s…n…n…n…a…k…k…ke…" a trembling voice whispered.

            "Otacon!  Hang in there!" he told him.

            Snake jumped to his feet, grabbing his things out of a crate in the corner of the room.  He quickly threw on his sneaking suit and holster, but there was no gun to put in it.

            "Doctor?"

            "Yes?"

            "Is there a large freezer anywhere on the base?"

            Anja nodded.  "Yes.  It's in my 'Element' testing lab nearby 'Shadow's' hangar.  Why?"

            Snake tied his bandana around his head.  "Show me the way."

***

            Something felt warm against Hal's body.

            "Otacon."

            He heard his name being called.  Was he dreaming?  Everything was so dark.  His eyes just wouldn't open.

            "Otacon."

            He heard his name called again.  A slight trace of musk entered his nostrils.  The scent was alluring and familiar.

            "Damn it, Otacon.  Open your eyes!"

            It was Dave's voice.  He found the strength to open his eyes and look up at him.

            "Snake…" he breathed.

            "Yeah Otacon, it's me," the other returned.  He was sitting on the floor with his friend's head resting against his chest.  His arms were wrapped around him, trying to share his body heat with his friend.

            "I'm so…"

             Hal coughed a few times, his blue lips still trembling.

            "I'm so glad… you're… alright."

            "I'm fine," he reassured him.  "Why wouldn't you tell Jack where you were?"

            A pair of hazel eyes bore into his.  "Because… I knew…" he wheezed, "I knew… he could… save you…"

            "But why, Otacon?  Why risk your life like that?" Snake demanded.

            "Because… I…"

            Hal paused, trying desperately to breathe in the warm air around him deep.  He had so much to say, but his body wasn't cooperating.  Otacon could feel it.  He was dying.  If he was going to say what was on his mind, he'd have to hurry.

            "Snake…  Do you remember… when I asked you… if you thought love… could bloom on a battlefield?"

            "Yes, Hal.  I remember," he replied.

            "Do you… remember… what you said to me?"

            "Anytime, anyplace, people can fall in love with each other."

            Hal smiled weakly.  He _did_ remember.

            "You also… told me… that if you love… someone…"

            Hal coughed again, his windpipes rasping and whistling as he struggled to keep control.

            "you have… to… be able to… protect them."

            Snake nodded, his green eyes matching his hazel gaze.  "That's right."

            "I tried…" he whispered.  "I tried to protect Wolf… but… I failed."

            He coughed again.

            "I tried… to… protect E.E., …but I… failed…"

            Warm tears streamed down his red, frost-bitten cheeks.  Snake wiped them away with a gloved hand.

            "And now…" Hal's voice lowered again.  His friend leaned in closer to hear his words.  "Now… I've failed… to… protect… you…"

            Otacon gathered up what little power he had left in his body to raise his mouth up to meet Snake's.  He kissed him gently.  Dave tasted so sweet, just as he imagined he would.  He didn't want it to end.  Hal loved him, and he would die with the satisfaction that he had finally told him how he felt.

            For the longest time he hadn't even known it himself.  But after awhile, it had just become so clear.

            Losing control, Hal's body collapsed into Dave's lap, breaking the kiss.

            Snake had a look of shock and confusion on his face.  Otacon was in love with him?

            He checked Hal's pulse.  It was weak, but still there.  He scooped the limp form into his arms and held him close.

            His codec rang.  It was Anja Raznov.

            "Nathair.  I've got my anti-hypothermia supplies.  We're headed back your way."

            "Hurry up!" Snake told her.  "He hasn't got much time left."

            "ETA:  four minutes," she stated, ending the call.

            Snake turned his attention once again to Otacon.

            "So, that's why you came along," he whispered as he caressed his hair.

            Dave listened to the sounds of his partner's shallow breathing as he waited for help to arrive.

            "Hang in there, Hal."

Author's Notes:

Nothing really for this chapter.


	21. Chapter 21: Recovery

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 21:  Recovery

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 21:  Recovery

            Otacon slowly awoke, warmth and strength returning to his body.  He was still laying on the floor where he had last remembered being, and to his surprise, he was still being cradled in Dave's arms.

            "He's coming to.  Jack, hand me a syringe from the case labeled 'Adrenal Stimulator- 100 ppm'," Anja instructed, pointing at her bag full of supplies.

            Snake looked down at Hal and smiled.  "You're going to be alright now," he told him.  "Dr. Raznov reversed all damage caused by hypothermia, save for a few patches of freeze-burned skin.  Those will heal the same as any sunburn would."

            Hal simply nodded.  He remained silent, embarrassed for having bared his soul to him.  He just relished in the fact that he was lying in Snake's arms.

            "Can you sit up?" Dr. Raznov asked him.

            Could he?  Yes.  Did he want to?  That was another question all together.  If he had it his way, he'd stay there forever, but he knew they had to hurry and get out of Antarctica.

            Hal slowly sat himself up.  His muscles still ached from all of the shivering his body had done, but it was bearable.  He rubbed his shoulder, rolling it around to release the stiffness, then switched sides.

            Anja checked his vital signs again:  his heart rate, blood pressure, pupil response, and body temperature.  They were all back to normal.

            "How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked her patient.

            Otacon readjusted his glasses on his face, then looked up at the doctor's hand.

            "Three," he answered her.

            "Good," she stated.

            Hal tried to get to his feet, but he fell backwards, crashing into Dave.

            "Whoa!  Easy!" he steadied his friend.  "One step at a time."

            Otacon sat back up and took in some deep breaths.  He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

            Anja took out her stethoscope to listen to his lungs.  They sounded clear, all traces of wheezing gone.

            "I want you to sit up for a few minutes before you try that again." the doctor said.  "Then we'll see how to go from there."

            Otacon nodded in acknowledgement.

            Raiden went over to the engineer, crouching beside him.  His breath swirled in clouds around him.  "I'm glad you're alright.  You had us all scared for awhile there."

            Hal looked up at Raiden's new mechanical parts.  He was intrigued by the technology, but decided to ask later.  He shifted his gaze to the floor.  "Sorry," he said simply, maintaining his uncharacteristic silence.

            "Well the important thing is that you're still here," Jack told him, standing back up.  He walked over to the far corner of the lab and activated his codec.

***

            Mei Ling's beautifully manicured nails were now bitten down to the quick.  She hadn't heard from neither Dave, Hal, nor Jack in the last ten hours.  The silence was beginning to eat away at her.

            She had been monitoring the radar carefully.  Not that it told her much about what was going on, but it did comfort her to be able to see their positions on the map.

            Mei was startled as her ear began to ring.  Anxiously, she answered the call.

            "Jack!" she almost shouted, relieved to hear from him.

            "Hi, Princess."

            "What's the situation?"

            "Things are better than they were," he told her.  "We're still trying to get Otacon well enough to follow us out of here."

            "Oh, my!" she gasped.  "What happened to Otacon?"

            "Someone removed his sneaking suit's computer and threw him in a freezer.  The hypothermia almost killed him, but fortunately for us, Dr. Raznov is somewhat of an expert in that area."

            "Thank God he's alright."

            "How are you holding up, Princess?" Jack asked.

            "Well, I'm tired.  I haven't slept much since you three left Russia.  It just seems as if you've been gone forever.  It is as they say:  'A watched pot never boils.'"  Mei sighed, rubbing her black-ringed, sleep-deprived eyes.

            "It'll all be over soon," Raiden assured her.  "Dr. Raznov's got a plan to get us all out of here."

            "Really?"

            He gave a verbal nod.  "Mhmmm.  I'm gonna pilot Metal Gear back to New York, then we're going to run the self-destruct sequence and destroy it."

            "You know how to pilot a Metal Gear?" Mei questioned, raising an eyebrow.

            "It's a bit complicated, but I'll explain how later," he replied, fingering his implants in an exploratory manner.  He was still not used to the constant blinking of lights in his peripherals.

            "I see."

            "Oh, and that reminds me.  Can you have a boat waiting for us?" Jack asked her.

            "Yeah, sure!" she replied.  "Just send the coordinates when you're ready to destroy 'Shadow'."

            "Will do," he returned.  "We should be there within the next twenty-four hours or so.  Get back to New York ASAP!"

            "I can't wait to see you again," said Mei.

            "Me neither."  Jack blew her a kiss.  "Bye, Princess."

            The call ended and Mei Ling got up from where she was sitting.  She smiled to herself as she packed up her things.

            The woman was trying to be optimistic about their return, considering they'll be in possession of an undetectable, almost indestructible, walking battle tank.  She looked forward to picking up where she had left off with Jack.

***

            "Alright.  I think it's safe to try standing again," said Anja.  "Nathair.  Could you help him up?"

            Snake nodded.  He grabbed Hal underneath his arms, then hoisted him slowly to his feet.  He then draped his friend's arm over his shoulder.

            Otacon wasn't very steady on his feet yet.  He shifted some of his weight over to Dave.

            "Alright," Anja said.  "Let's go."

            Otacon put one foot in front of the other, but one wouldn't necessarily call it walking.  He was being dragged along more than he was stepping.  Snake stopped.  This wasn't going to work.  Hal was way too weak to continue.  He crouched down.

            "Put your arms around my neck," he instructed.  "I'll carry you."

            "Just go on and leave me behind, " Hal said, sitting back down on the floor.  "I'm just going to drag you down."

            Snake knelt down beside him.  "I'm not going to leave you," he told him firmly.  "If I do, then I'll have no one to protect me."

            Otacon's heart began to pound.  Did he mean what he thought he meant?  The engineer looked up at the mercenary, eyes glossed over with tears.

            Snake grabbed his friend in one of his reassuring hugs.  Otacon returned it, squeezing as tight as his sore muscles would let him.

            Raiden was confused.  "Why would the 'Legendary Solid Snake' need protecting?" he wondered.

            The two friends released each other, then Snake gave him a final pat on the shoulder.  They nodded in sync, understanding fully what each other meant to say.  Then, as Jack had witnessed before, they performed a complicated handshake sequence.  It ended with their hands joined, just as their lives had been since their destined encounter at Shadow Moses.  Dave and Hal were inseparable.

            Snake offered his back once again and Otacon wrapped his arms and legs around him.  The mercenary grabbed hold of his cargo and stood up.

            "Hang on tight.  It's going to be one Hell of a ride."

Author's Notes:  This one doesn't need any explaining either.


	22. Chapter 22: Darkness at High Noon

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 22:  Darkness at High Noon

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  R for graphic violence (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 22:  Darkness at High Noon

            Genesis smiled to herself as she headed towards the torture room.  If she was going to ensure conception, she'd have to take her brother again.  The lady Snake found herself strangely aroused by the thought of raping him.  She was going to enjoy this.

            She swiped her access card, then punched in her ID number.

            "What the…?!" Eve growled.

            He was gone.

            Genesis turned on her codec to an open frequency.

            "They've escaped!  Find them!" she ordered.  "Do what you want with Jack and Emmerich, but don't harm Solid Snake!  I need him alive!"

            Eve closed the call.

            "I should have known better to underestimate a man of my own blood," she muttered under her breath, "but I'll find you."

***

            Anja, Raiden and Snake, with Otacon still in tow, sprinted down the halls to the hangar as warning sirens went off.

            "Over there!" the woman shouted above the blaring.

            Their destination was just ahead.

            So was a woman with a gun, pointed directly at them.

            She fired the gun, hitting both of her targets, who fell dead to the ground, blood oozing from the wounds in their heads.

            Raiden looked at her, unclear as to why it was Frost had done what she did.  Then he turned around to catch a glimpse of the two RNF soldiers she had just killed.

            "You'll have to hurry," Frost told them.  "Genesis has the entire base looking for you."

            Jack knitted his brow.  "Why are you doing this?"

            She smiled, blue-violet eyes sparkling.  "Go on.  I'll hold them off."

            Snake looked at Raiden, then at the other cybernetically enhanced person.  "You know her?"

            The blond-haired man nodded.  "An old childhood friend."

            Frost unstrapped Jack's sword from her back.  She held it out to him.  "Don't forget this."

            He took it, unsheathing the blade as the sound of soldiers' boots could be heard storming their way.  Raiden circled the sword around twice, then set himself in the en garde position.

            "Get 'Richard' to 'Shadow'.  I'll help Frost take care of some of these soldiers.  I'll be there as soon as you have him situated."

            Snake gave an acknowledging nod, then ran with Otacon into the hangar, followed by Dr. Anja Raznov.

            Another group of guards made their way around the corner, assault rifles in hand.

            "We've found prisoner Jack," one said into his radio.  "He's in front of the hangar."

            "Kill him," a woman's voice returned.

            That was all the license they needed to begin firing.  Jack made a few quick swipes of his High Frequency Blade, deflecting the bullets.  He charged them, throwing his nimble body into acrobatics, making it near impossible for the RNF soldiers to follow their target.  He spun as a dancer would, slashing three of them at their throats in a kind of morbid ballet.

            Frost watched Jack as she provided cover fire.  He was indeed skilled with the blade, just as she had remembered.  His battle partner looked on with admiration.

            Raiden cartwheeled his way through the center of the group, stopping only to swing his blade.  He slashed two more men, groin to chest, their insides spilling out.  The soldiers watched each other's demise helplessly, as they crumbled into heaps on the floor.

            The last of the squadron got himself positioned to shoot.  The bullet whizzed past Jack's head and he heard a shriek of agony from behind him.

            His heart sank.

            Diane was shot.

***

            Metal Gear Shadow was an amazing sight to behold.  It stood high above them, its sleek black color making it appropriate to its name.

            Snake frowned.  How ironic.  The very thing that he and Otacon had sworn to eradicate was the only thing that would save them all now.

            The engineer on his back stared up at it in awe.  There had been so many new advancements made since he had designed "Rex".  The rail gun was stronger and more streamlined.  The legs, better articulated, were perfect for traveling rough terrain.  Amphibious like "Ray", it had a long tail to help propel it through the water.  "Shadow had a set of wings, resembling the shape of those on a glider.

            Snake lowered his friend to the ground.  "I'm going back for the kid and see if I can't help him out in the process."

            "We'll be waiting," Otacon said.

            The mercenary went around the hangar, scanning the area.  "There's got to be a gun around here somewhere."

            "There's one right over here," a voice said from behind him.

            "Genesis!" Snake growled.  A gun was aimed at his head.

            She smiled icily.  "I'm glad to know that you haven't forgotten me, brother."

            Snake narrowed his eyes.  "I know you won't kill me.  You need me."

            Genesis laughed, taunting him by pressing the barrel of the gun into the back of his head.  "Oh my!" she said.  "So sure of yourself, Snake?"

            "You're Solid Snake?" asked Anja.

            "That's right, doctor," Eve confirmed, "And that's his friend Dr. Hal Emmerich, or should I call you Otacon?"

            The engineer, still seated on the floor, swallowed hard.  This whole thing had been a setup from the very beginning.  He'd screwed up again.

            "Now, brother, you can make things easy on us all and just give up.  Or, you can make things difficult, forcing me to shoot you," she gestured behind her with a jerk of her head, "or your partner."

            Snake had enough.  The mentioning of harm to Otacon, whose only crimes were naïveté and caring too much, threw him over the edge.  The seasoned warrior dropped quickly into a crouch, sweeping Genesis' legs out from under her, sending the unsuspecting woman's gun flying out of her hand and sliding across the floor.

            Being of the same perfect soldier's blood, Eve wasted no time retaliating.  She threw her leg up high, bringing it down to wrap around his neck, squeezing hard.

            Snake grabbed Genesis' body, rolling with the hold to release himself.  She kicked him in the chest, knocking him off balance for a second.  He returned the blow with a swing to her jaw.

            Genesis Snake got up, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth.  She smiled and spat, propelling the shattered remains of her molar into the air.

            Eve moved in to attack again.  Solid Snake sidestepped her attack, grabbing the woman in a chokehold.  She elbowed his sides hard.  Snake squeezed tighter.  Genesis grabbed a hold of her "brother's" arms, trying desperately to keep him from snapping her neck.  She had to think fast.  Eve grabbed for her knife and drove it into Dave's thigh.  She twisted it to open the wound, then pulled it out.

            Solid Snake grunted, winced, then grabbed Eve's wrist to keep her from doing it again.  The lady Snake dug her heel into his gaping wound, giving her just enough of a distraction to circle behind him and put the knife at his throat.

            "I've grown tired of these games, brother.  I'm beginning to think all of this effort isn't worth it."

            Solid Snake's muscles twitched, preparing to flee.

            Genesis held him tighter, touching the blade to his flesh and drawing a small amount of blood.  "Don't move, or I'll kill you," she snarled.

***

            Raiden quickly and vengefully disposed of the remaining soldier that had shot Diane, and then hurried back to check on her.

            Frost lay on the floor, looking at the ceiling.  Her breaths were shallow, blood gurgling with her inhalations.  There was a considerably large bullet hole in her chest.

            She reached up to him, and he knelt beside her, taking her hands into his.

            "Jack…" she managed.

            "Shh…" he hushed her.  "Just save your strength."  Raiden stroked her shimmery blue-black hair.

            Frost looked up into his icy blue eyes and he could see the pain and fear written in them.  He could see the acknowledgement of her impending death.

            "Please, don't go, Diane," he sobbed.

            She shook her head.  "Don't…cry…for…me… Re…mem…ber, …Diane…died…in…Af…rica…"

            Frost heaved, regurgitating all of the blood that had been collecting in her stomach.  It left a puddle on the ground, slowly expanding outward.  Then, with a final gasp, she died.

            Jack's eyes poured, tears falling on the face of his dead friend.  She had left him again; one of his only friends.

            Something in her pocket was sticking out and Jack retrieved it.

            It was the picture of Iroquois that he had brought with him.  He closed his eyes, clasping the picture over his heart.  His son was gone too.  He felt so alone.

            "Don't…cry…for…me…" Diane's words echoed in his mind.

            Raiden opened his eyes and wiped away his tears.  He would respect her dying wishes.  He wouldn't cry.

            Jack laid the photograph in her hand, then he shut her eyes.

            "Goodbye," he whispered.

***

            Otacon's mind ran in circles.  Who was that woman and why did she call Snake "brother"?  He shivered, picturing that scene of her mounted on Dave.  The rape imagery was disturbing enough, but this element of information just made it all that more revolting.

            "Snake!" Hal cried out.

            Genesis laughed, her face contorted into that evil grin.  She trailed her tongue along the side of Dave's neck.  "Just give in," she purred into his ear.  "It's not all bad, is it?"

            Hal's rarely seen rage burned as he watched the woman taunt the man he loved.  His original impression of the woman, stuck.  She was twisted.

            Something on the floor by his hand caught his eye.  He discarded all fear as he realized he still had a chance to protect Dave and grabbed the object.

            Raiden had just come into the doorway of the hangar, when he saw the Socom in Otacon's hands.

            Hal pointed the gun directly at Genesis and fired, the recoil throwing back his still weak arms.

            Genesis stumbled backwards, releasing her captive, as she clutched her bleeding stomach.  A red river poured from her mouth.

            Otacon fired again, his anger taking over the usually timid engineer like a demon.  He fired again.  And again.

            Eve wailed as the bullets tore through her flesh.  She fell to the floor, all movement ceasing.

            Otacon fired one last time before his trembling hands could no longer hold the gun, dropping it with a clatter.  He then crawled his way over to Dave.

            Hal sat beside him, pulling a bandage from his pouch on his belt.  He carefully and tightly dressed the stab wound.

            His partner smiled.  "I'm impressed."

            The engineer blushed, shifting his glasses up his nose.  "Yeah?  Well, I did learn from the best."

            Snake tousled his hair.

            "Hey!" Otacon whined indignantly.

            The mercenary's leg was fully bandaged.  He got up, lifting his partner to his feet.  The two limped their way back over to Shadow.

            "Thank you for protecting me, Otacon."

            Hal blushed again.  "Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

            Dave smiled warmly at him.  "Yes, but in the future, do your protecting off of the battlefield.  Promise?"

            He nodded.  "I promise."

            "Good."

            "Snake, are y-you…" Hal stammered, "that is… um… are you m-mad about what I s-said back in the lab?"

            "Of course not!" Dave answered.  "What gave you that idea?"

            "Well, it's just… well, I'm a man.  I thought you might be uncomfortable with that.  If you want me to move out, I'll understand."

            Snake rolled his eyes, then stopped to face his friend.  "Didn't I already tell you that at anytime, anyplace, people could fall in love with each other, and that if you loved them, you have to be able to protect them?"

            "Well, yes, but…"

            "But what?"  Snake said, raising an eyebrow.  "Here's a time, here's a place, and here's two people that have gone through many trials together over the past five years.  I've protected you, and you've protected me."

            "So, does that mean…?" Hal trailed off.

            "Look, Otacon.  I'm not great with words.  Let me sum this up," Snake said, grabbing his partner by the shoulders and pulling his body into his.  He leaned in and kissed Hal, eagerly and passionately, catching him off guard.

            Raiden and Anja stood wide-eyed, jaws to the floor.

            Snake pulled away.  "There," he said.  "Does that clear things up for you?"

            Otacon blushed feverishly, his head nodding almost indiscernibly.

            The two continued their limping to Metal Gear.

            Jack made his way over to rejoin the group.

            Anja looked at her watch.  "It's 1200 hours now.  We should be able to make it back to New York by 0300."

            "What do we do about this place, and what about Dr. Chetnik?" Jack asked.

            "His knowledge and intentions are far too dangerous to keep around.  After we're clear of the access tunnel, we should destroy this place."

            The others nodded their consensus.

            "Let's do it," said Snake.

Author's Notes:

The reason I chose this particular title for the chapter is because in typical westerns, a standoff would happen at "high noon".  Otacon stands off in a way with Genesis, though only for a split second.  A lot of dark things happen in this chapter, so this expresses that aspect of it.  Also, in Antarctica in June, it is winter.  During the winter, south of the Antarctic circle, the sun does not rise.  It is dark at noon.


	23. Chapter 23: Ascent from Hell

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 23:  Ascent from Hell

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 23:  Ascent from Hell

****

            Raiden sat in Shadow's pilot seat as Dr. Raznov connected him to its mainframe.  The instant the connection was complete, he felt a surge of information enter his mind.  Jack instantly knew the temperature of the hangar around him, the number of bullets in its rail gun, and exactly how many steps it would take to reach the opening of the access tunnel.  At first it was overwhelming, but after awhile, Raiden became fascinated with his Metal Gear-enhanced perception.

            "Jack, run diagnostics," the scientist instructed him.

            In less than an instant, Metal Gear Shadow sent thousands of system specs through his mind.  Raiden closed his eyes, welcoming the flow of knowledge.  "All systems normal."

            "Good.  Activate stealth and thermo camouflaging."

            Jack sent the command through with a simple thought, and Shadow acted accordingly.  "Done."

            Otacon sat on the floor at the back of the cockpit.  He was amazed by all that was going on around him.  Shadow was remarkable.  Hal touched the smooth, dark, metal wall that was free of a single indicator light.  He looked over at Jack, eyeing his cybernetic implants and the wires running from them to Metal Gear's console.  He realized then that every gauge, display, and warning signal were running directly through Raiden's brain.

            He looked up at the man beside him who, seemingly disinterested, coolly leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.  Dave must have felt a pair of eye on him.  He turned to look down at his partner.

            "You know, Snake, I've never actually been inside of the cockpit of a Metal Gear before."

            "Really?" he said, raising his eyebrow.

            Hal nodded, "I simply worked in design.  Another department of ArmsTech handled the actual construction."  He gave the cockpit another quick survey.  "You know what else?"

            "What's that Otacon?" Dave answered, sitting down to rest his injured leg.

            "I'm glad I've had this opportunity to face my demons head-on," Hal told him, eyes shifting to the floor.  "I'm not afraid anymore."

            The mercenary wrapped his arm around his partner's shoulders.  "That's good," he replied.  "Now the only thing we have left to work on is your self-confidence."

            Otacon shuffled his feet a bit.  "W-what do you mean?"

            Snake simply smiled and said, "We'll talk about that later."

            "All systems go," Jack announced.  "Setting course for New York City."

            Metal Gear's engines sprang to life, but those in the cabin could barely hear them.  They watched with anticipation as Jack directed Shadow into its first steps towards the exit.

            Behind them, about thirty RNF soldiers poured into the hangar.  They blindly sprayed the area with bullets and grenades, but not a single one left a scratch on Metal Gear.

            The access tunnel was 20 km long, with a steep grade to the surface.  Walking Shadow would take too long.

            "Start up the jet-propulsion systems," Anja instructed.  "We're going to fly this thing out of here."

            Jack's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he ran the commands through his mind.  A few seconds later, Shadow responded by crouching into the "launch position".  It took off, speeding through the tunnel.

            "Watch out!" the scientist warned him, "Up ahead are the first set of the access tunnel's laser defense mechanisms.  Run 'Evasive Pattern 918' to avoid them."

            Jack did, and Metal Gear Shadow began a series of rolls and spirals that sent Hal's stomach turning with it.  The lasers could be seen up ahead, sweeping the tunnel for intruders.  Shadow nimbly dodged every single blast, and continued its journey up the shaft.

***

            Back in the hangar, three people entered the scene.  Dr. Yadik, Dr. Knight, followed by another man, dressed in a lab coat, wearing thick, plastic rimmed glasses.

            "They're gone," the man said.

            "How can you tell?" Yadik asked him.

            "I built Shadow with my own two hands.  I know when she's around.  She has this smell…"

            "I'm not sure I understand, but I'll take your word for it," Dr. Yadik replied.  He raised his arm up into the air.  "_Hold your fire!_"

            The soldiers ceased their assault, turning their attention to their commander.

            "_They're gone.  Go back to your stations and await further orders._"

            The squadron acknowledged with a salute, then marched their way out into the corridor.

            Sabren walked slowly over to the body lying in a heap on the other side of the hangar.  He knelt down beside her, rolling the woman onto her back.  Genesis' lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.  He checked her pulse, then let out a sigh.

            "I always admired your ambition, but you let it get the better of you," he whispered.  "That was your only weakness."

            Sabren stood back up, turning to face the others.  "Genesis is dead."

            "Solid Snake killed her then?" Yadik asked him.

            "No.  These bullet wounds are not precise enough," Dr. Knight said with a chuckle.  "Interesting…"

            "What's that?"

            "These shots were made by an uneasy hand," Sabren explained, pointing to each of her wounds.  "I remember Dr. Emmerich being terrified of guns, but I suppose that any man can be forced to murder if the right circumstances arise."

            "So, what are our orders?" Dr. Yadik asked.

            Sabren Knight walked back over to join them.  "Start the evacuation.  They will most likely try to bring this place down on our heads once they clear the tunnel."

            "What about the laser defense systems?" the scientist asked, shifting his heavy, coke-bottle glasses to a more comfortable position on his nose.

            "Your partner is with them.  She undoubtedly knows the proper evasive maneuvers," Dr. Knight told him.

            Dr. Chetnik frowned.  "I was hoping she'd have a change of heart, but I should have known better."

            "Let's move out!"

***

            "Over there!" Anja Raznov pointed, "There's the second set of lasers."

            Raiden received more transmissions from Metal Gear's sensors.  "Confirmed.  Running 'Evasive Pattern 1205."

            Shadow reacted, dipping and turning every which way, the lasers shooting at it, missing every time.  Jack increased the speed, anxious to get out of the narrow tunnel.

            "Look!" Otacon said, pointing into the distance, "I can see the exit.  The aurora is lighting the way."

            Anja leaned in to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.  "Alright.  It should be safe now.  Jack, arm the Nikitas.  Make sure you send instructions on how to evade the laser attack.  I think about twenty should do it.  Send them to structural points Q to X."

            Raiden armed the remote control missiles, programming them with a preset flight pattern through Metal Gear's mainframe.  "Done.  Firing Nikita missiles," he announced.  Metal Gear Shadow's missile bay opened and a slew of Nikitas launched behind them.  "Estimated time of impact:  3 minutes 37 seconds."

            At that moment, they cleared the tunnel and shot up into the star-studded sky, the Aurora Australis eerily glowing above them.

            In contrast to the endless white of the Antarctic snowdrifts below them, bright orange and blue flames jumped out from the ground as the missiles made impact, destroying the base.  The fires burned high and hot, adding to the luminescence of the Southern Lights.

            Dr Raznov, Raiden, Snake, and Otacon watched this display as Metal Gear Shadow soared towards New York City.

***

            "Yes, the traitor has been disposed of."

            A question.

            "They are in possession of Metal Gear.  We'll meet you at the rendezvous point.  Shall I bring the bodies?"

            An answer.

            "Understood."

Author's Notes:

The imagery at the end of the chapter is a metaphor for them escaping the Hell that was their prison for the past day or so.  The flames shooting up to the sky as they fly away is a perfect example of this.


	24. Chapter 24: Guardian from the Shadows

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 24:  Guardian from the Shadows

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG-13 for language. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 24:  Guardian from the Shadows****

****

            Mei Ling started up the engines of the boat she had just rented.  It was small, but it would hold four passengers, and it was the best one she could find on such a short notice.  She had shelled out a lot of money for it too, since the guy had already promised it to someone else.

            She looked down at her watch, still set to Russian time:  10:05 p.m.  That was exactly fourteen hours since she had last heard from Raiden.  "Where could they be?" she thought to herself.

            Mei stayed at the dock, engines running; ready to drive over to them at a moment's notice.

***

            The waters of the Atlantic Ocean sped below the wings of Metal Gear Shadow.  The sun shined brightly above, giving the otherwise unappealing, muddy color a sparkling sheen.  They were flying at a relatively low altitude of 8,000 feet, allowing Raiden to watch the boats in the ocean below pass by.

            "We're coming up on New York City," he announced.  "Where should I put down?"

            "Right over there," Dr. Raznov said, pointing off to the right.  "That should be far enough from shore.  Take Shadow to the bottom."

            Metal Gear dove from the sky and into the ocean, making the transition from air to water with the grace of a swan.  The massive tail swayed back and forth, propelling them deeper.

            Otacon stood beside Raiden, leaning on the back of his chair to keep his balance as he watched the underwater scenery.  The continental shelf blossomed with life.  Fish swam through the jungles of green seaweed.  Jellyfish bobbed along, minding their own business.  And Crabs walked sideways across the now visible ocean floor.  Raiden guided Shadow to a spot near some rocks and set it down.

***

            "Welcome back, Mr. Skywalker!" Mei answered her codec cheerfully.  "I'm glad everyone's alright."

            "Hi, Princess.  Where are you at?"

            "I'm at the docks on the east side, ready with a boat," she replied.

            "Great.  Meet us at these coordinates in approximately ten minutes," Jack instructed, sending their position via Metal Gear's navigational computer to the information officer's laptop.

            "Got them," Mei confirmed the transmission.

            "I'll be seeing you real soon," Raiden told her.

            "I can't wait.  I'm so glad this mission's finally over.  You all had me so worried.  Laterz!"

            "Bye!" he said, blowing her a kiss and ending the codec call.

            Mei Ling looked at her watch again, sighing impatiently.

            "Ten minutes…"

***

            "Begin 'Self-Destruct' sequence.  The code is:  19446LPA1087," Dr. Raznov told the pilot.

            Raiden ran the commands to Metal Gear Shadow.  "Self-Destruct sequence lock one released.  Confirmation code needed for initiation of the countdown," he stated.

            "Confirmation code is:  26301CWV0301."

            "Code input complete," Raiden announced.  "Setting clock at T-5 minutes……Done."

            Anja disconnected the pilot from the mainframe.  Jack felt the flow of information yanked from him, making him feel blind.  His head pounded, trying to compensate.

            "Agh!  My head!" he cried out, pressing his hands against his temples.

            "You alright, kid?  What's happening?!" Snake asked.

            "It's alright," Dr. Raznov said reassuringly.  "He's just experiencing the normal withdrawal side effects from the sudden disconnection from Metal Gear's computer."

            Raiden's temples pulsed.  The pressure in his head was so great that tears began to squeeze out the sides of his tightly clamped eyes.  He cried out again, "Aaaah!!"

            The scientist dropped to her knees beside his chair and took his head into her hands.  She began to run them through his hair in a soothing, circular motion.  "Try to clear your mind," she told him.  "The more you try to think, the worse it'll get."

            Raiden breathed hard, blowing out large clouds of condensed moisture as he tried to regain his composure.

            "Kid, can you get up?" Snake asked.  "We need to get out of here!"

            The young man nodded, pulling himself to his feet.  He grabbed his head again, and a black curtain dropped suddenly over his eyes.  Jack began to tumble.

            "Shit!" Snake growled, lunging forward to catch him.

            "He'll be fine," Anja stated.  "Let's get him into the escape pod."

            Solid Snake quickly hoisted the flimsy, unconscious form over his shoulder.  He felt pain shoot upwards from his wounded thigh.  He gritted his teeth.  Blood was making its way through the bandages, which had already been redressed at least five times during their journey.  He was going to need stitches.

            His partner looked over at him in concern.  The mercenary nodded in his direction to reassure him that he'd be alright.

            Anja went over to the back of the cockpit and pulled on the manual release lever, opening the door to the escape pod.  The inside was rather narrow, but they'd all fit.  She went in and sat in the pilot's seat, activating the control panel.

            Snake limped into the pod next with Raiden.  The cold skin of his exposed torso lay against his hauler's cheek.  It gave Dave an eerie feeling.  He'd felt skin that cold before, but only on dead men.  The only thing letting him know differently was the steady beat of his heart, pounding against his chest.  It was just so unnatural.  He lowered Jack to the ground, leaning his body against the wall.

            Otacon was slowly staggering towards the doorway, still weak from his brush with death earlier.  Snake went over to him, offering his shoulder.  The engineer wrapped his arm around it and hobbled quickly into the pod.  Hal sat himself in the corner, his knees drawn up under his chin, and his partner sat down beside him.

            "Let's go, Doc!" the mercenary said to the woman in the pilot seat.

            Anja finished initializing the systems, pressing buttons and flipping switches across the panel.  "Ready to… Oh no!"

            "Is something wrong?" Hal asked.

            "My locket.  I dropped it.  I'll be right back," she said, getting up from her chair and heading back into the cockpit.

            The door to the escape pod shut behind her.

            "What the Hell?!" Snake growled.

            "Auto-Pilot set.  Launch in T-30 seconds," a voice announced.

            "That double-crossing bitch!" he cursed, trying to get the door open.  Dave turned to the engineer.  "Can you stop this thing?"

            "I'll try," he replied, limping over to the controls.  Hal studied them quickly and carefully.  He tried a few things.

            "No good, Snake.  She's locked us out of the system," he said in defeat.  "There's no way I can hack us in within ten more seconds."

            Snake charged at the door in a fit of rage, throwing his full weight into it.  The metal didn't budge.  "Damn!"

            "Launching in 5…" the voice echoed throughout the pod.

            "Snake, you'd better hold on!" Hal called back to him.

            "4…"

            The mercenary gave the door one last frustrated kick, then sat down.

            "3…"

            Otacon buckled himself in.

            "2…"

            "1…"

            "Damn!!!" Snake cursed again, banging his fist on the floor.

            The pod lurched forward as it jettisoned from its bay.  It cut through the water like a hot knife through butter, traveling farther and farther away from Shadow.  After awhile, it began to lose its momentum.  It slowed to a halt, floating up to the surface.

            A call was coming in on each of their codecs at frequency 141.62.

            "Who are you?" Snake demanded harshly.

            "I go by Anja Raznov when I'm out in the field, but I have many other names, just as you do."

            "Are you with the Patriots?" Hal chimed in his query.

            "I am one of your guardians.  That's all you need to know."

            "Guardian…?" the engineer pondered.

            "How benevolent!" Snake hissed.  "Sorry, but I don't need a babysitter."

            "Why did you put yourself and us through all of this if you could have taken Shadow anytime you wanted?" Otacon asked, clenching his fists, remembering the painful events of the past few days.  Tears welled up in his eyes.

            Snake walked over to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  Hal reached up and clasped his hand in his.  Dave gave it a quick squeeze.

            "We did it to make you stronger.  I anticipated Genesis' treachery so I sent you, Snake, in as a distraction.  It was to be orchestrated that you would kill her for us, but it worked out even better.  Dr. Emmerich gained a lot from his experience."

            "I didn't want to kill anybody!" he protested, tears welling up again.  "Even if she was a bad person!"

            "I saw the way you held that gun.  Don't deny that seeing your friend in danger didn't make you want to see her dead.  You found a thrill in killing her."

            "Shut up!" he sobbed.  "I just want to forget this whole thing ever happened!"

            "But you won't, so don't fight it.  Learn from the experience."

            "Leave him alone!" Snake snarled.

            "Forgive me.  I meant your partner no harm."

            "Why didn't you just kill her?" Otacon demanded an answer.

            "I couldn't reveal my identity or intentions.  See, our organization runs on a similar set of checks and balances that the U.S. government does.  There are many branches, one unaware of the other.  There are most likely branches that even I am not familiar with.  It's to help keep ambitious people like Genesis from trying a hostile takeover of such a delicately balanced organization.  One watches over the other in an endless cycle."

            "So why us?  Why drag us into this?  Why not send another of your lackeys to eliminate her?" Hal posed.

            "Who better to take care of her than her genetic equal?"

            "So I suppose that this was just another stupid exercise for your precious S3 program?" the mercenary growled, gritting his teeth.

            "The information collected was invaluable.  We appreciate your cooperation."

            "Go shove it up your ass!"

            "My, my!  Such hostile language."

            "So that's it then?" Hal spoke up.  "You people are going to force us to live these nightmares again and again for some 'perfect soldier project'?"

            "Your lives play an important role in the future of this world.  It has been written into your destinies.  All of you will see things in a better light when everything finally comes to order."

            "I don't want any part in it," stated Otacon sternly.

            "But you've already begun to play your part, Dr. Emmerich."

            "Fuck you!"

            Snake was shocked.  He'd never seen his friend so angry in his entire life.  He lay his other hand on top of their already joined hands, reassuring him with his touch.

            "What about Jack?  What part does he have in all of this?" the mercenary asked.

            "His fate is the same as your own.  Once you decided to show up at the Big Shell, and quite unexpectedly I might add, your lives were tied together.  I suppose it was inevitable that the man we were trying to shape as Solid Snake would actually encounter the one he was modeled after.  Life has a funny way of throwing in irony when you least expect it."  She paused, letting out a sigh.  "Anyways, I'll be leaving you now.  Live your lives to the fullest, knowing how important you are to the future of humanity.  I'm sure we'll meet again in the future."

            "When that time comes, I will kill you," Snake assured her.

            "I'll be looking forward to that," she replied, signing off.

            The three were left alone again:  Raiden in the darkness of his unconscious mind, Snake left to his own thoughts, and Hal's mind to break.  He cried, unable to hold up the dam he had constructed to keep the tears back.  Snake didn't know what to do.  He didn't know how to deal with emotions.  The only thing he could think to do was hold him, so he scooped his partner up into his arms and hugged him tight.

            The pod drifted along the surface of the Ocean towards the shore.

Author's Notes:

Nothing much to explain here.


	25. Chapter 25: Homecoming

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Chapter 25:  Homecoming

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG for language. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Chapter 25:  Homecoming

            The ride home aboard the small rental boat was near silent, save for the gentle purring of the engines and the light slapping of waves against the hull.  Mei Ling, who had found the pod drifting nearly ten miles from the expected rendezvous, sat in the cabin, beside the still unconscious Raiden, stroking his soft, blonde hair.  She regarded his face with a certain curiosity as she watched the indicator lights on his cybernetic implants blink in a recycling pattern.  Slow, steady streams of condensation billowed up from his slightly parted lips as he breathed.

            Otacon stood leaning on the railing at the bow, letting the cool sea air ruffle his somewhat unruly brown hair.  Though he was no longer crying, his eyes were still red and glossed over with wetness.  He watched the shore slowly approach the horizon as he lamented over the grim outcome of their mission.

            Solid Snake was driving the boat.  He couldn't help but look out the window at the lone figure on the deck every now and then.  His partner seemed to have regained some composure, but Snake knew that he was probably dying inside.  He frowned.  "Hal must hate this," he thought.  "It's his destiny after all…"  His frown lightened a bit.  "No.  It's our destiny."

            Behind him, a soft moan escaped Raiden's somewhat bluish-tinted lips.

            "Jack?" Mei called to him.

            He opened his eyes, a friendly face coming into focus.  "Princess?"

            She giggled at the use of her nickname, "Yeah, it's me."

            Raiden held the back of his buzzing head as he sat up slowly.  He closed and reopened his eyes a few times to clear his vision.  "I must look like Hell."

            "I've seen worse," Mei Ling replied, kissing his cheek.  Shivers ran their way up her spine at the direct lip contact with his unnaturally cold skin.  "Aren't you cold at all?" the question finally came up.

            "No.  I feel fine.  I'll explain it to you all later."

            She nodded.  "Glad to have you back."

            "See?"  Raiden started with a grin, "I promised I'd return and I did."

            Mei Ling's eyes welled up with tears of joy.  "I never doubted it for a second."

            "Not even one tenth of a second?"

            "Not even one millionth of a second," she answered him.

            He wrapped her in his arms.  Mei Ling ignored the chills that ran through her body and concentrated on the warmth of his love.

            "Thank you for believing in me."

***

            Snake and Otacon walked slowly up the stairs and down the hall to their apartment door.  Hal fumbled with the many keys on his ring, trying to find the right one.  When he finally singled out the key he wanted, he turned it in the lock and went inside.

            It felt good to be home, he thought, or what had been home for them for the past year.  Unfortunately, after all that had happened, they would soon have to pack up and find a new home.  He sighed at that thought.  Such was the life of men like him and Solid Snake.

            The mercenary followed in behind him, dropping his equipment to the floor and closing the door.  He limped his way into his bedroom, then plopped down on the bed, grabbing his wounded thigh.  Dave sharply drew in his breath with a hiss, gritting his teeth.

            Otacon thought he heard a grunt from the room next to him.  "Snake, are you alright?"

            "I'm just fine!" he answered quickly so as not to worry his partner.

            Hal headed quickly for the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit out of the cabinet.  Checking that it contained what he needed, he closed the box back up and went to Dave's side.

            "Otacon…"

            "Just be quiet!  I need to clean and stitch this before infection sets in," Hal cut him off before he could lecture him about being able to take care of himself.

            Snake held up his hands in defeat.

            Otacon peeled away the sticky, oozing bandages from his leg.  After further examination of the wound, the scientist found that it was deeper than he had originally thought.  First, he had to clear all obstructions.  He reached to the clasp between his partner's thighs and began to undo the over layer of the sneaking suit.  He slid it up over Snake's head, moving to remove the skin-tight under layer.  He swallowed hard, knowing that he was naked underneath that suit.

            Dave lay completely still as Hal undressed him, anticipation teasing him as he knew that this time Hal saw him naked, it would be with lover's eyes.  A wave of heat washed over his cheeks, tinting them pink.  He bit his bottom lip as something burned his skin.

            The suit, thrown aside, left Solid Snake bare and vulnerable to the hands of the one with the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a sewing needle.  Otacon tried his best to keep his eyes focused on the wound as he flushed it out, a fizzing foam spewing from the gash as the chemical began to kill the bacteria that had made their homes there for several hours.  "Sorry…" he apologized as he began to dab the area dry with a clean towel.

            Snake looked down at his partner, who was still diligently cleaning his wound.  "You know, you don't have to do that."

            "Yes, I do," he replied, threading his needle with the thick, black, wiry material.  Hal reached back down into the kit, pulling out a syringe filled with a clear liquid labeled "local anesthetic".  The scientist opened the cap and tapped on the side to get out a few air bubbles that were left in it.  He lightly pushed the plunger, spraying the surface first.  He then took the remainder of the substance, and injected it into key points around the opening.

            Dave began to relax, as the pain began to disappear.  Otacon took cue from this that the local anesthetic was working, and began his careful stitching of the area.

***

            "There," Otacon said getting up from his knees.  "You're all fixed up."

            Snake looked down at his wound, admiring the masterpiece of his partner's skilled stitching.  "Looks good.  Feels a Hell of a lot better too."

            "That's the anesthetic still working.  It'll wear off in about 3 hours, so you should try to get some sleep while you can."  Otacon said, readjusting his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

            The engineer caught himself looking over the exposed body of the mercenary again.  He blushed feverishly, then turned around to leave the room.  A strong hand clasped itself around his wrist.

            "Would you stay here with me for awhile?"

            Otacon was caught off guard by Snake's words.  "Huh?"

            "Would you stay here with me for awhile?" he repeated himself.  "I don't think I'll be getting much sleep.  I never usually do.  I have too much on my mind to even try."

            Otacon sat down on the edge of the bed next to him.  "Do you want to talk about it?"  he asked.

            "No," Snake answered him.  "I really don't know how to go about that.  I've never been good at talking about these things.

            Otacon blushed again.  _These things…_  So Snake was thinking about his feelings for him.  Maybe he was reconsidering them?  Could he have just given into love in the heat of battle?

            With a touch of Dave's hand to his, all of his questions were answered, and relief came over him.  "What about you?  Aren't you tired?"

            "Yeah…" Hal said simply.

            Snake slid over against the wall and patted the bed space next to him.  Otacon timidly lay down beside his still unclothed partner.  He felt the warm, muscular figure snuggle up against him, wrapping a strong arm around his waist.

            "I love you," Otacon said in a whisper.

            "I love you too," Snake returned, surprised at his lack of hesitation in saying such emotionally powerful words.

            It was just natural, and that was why it was said with such ease.  Snake's meeting with Otacon was fate.  And fate is what joined them in love.

***

            Mei Ling stood up on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend goodbye.  "I'll see you later, right?"

            "Yeah.  I'll be right over," Raiden replied.  "I just want to gather up a few things here and take a shower."

            "Alright.  See ya!" she said, parting with a wave.

            Raiden closed the door and removed his pants.  He went over to the full-length mirror on the back of the door in the bathroom to look at himself.  The cybernetically altered man felt he looked like something out of a bad science fiction film.  Showering was going to be a little odd too with these foreign parts on him.  He sighed, turning on the water…

            There was a knock at the door.

            Raiden wrapped his towel around him, grabbing for his High Frequency Blade.  He looked out the peephole.

            Nobody was there.

            Jack frowned, then turned the doorknob quietly and carefully.  He cracked the door open, sword ready.

            The hall window next to him was open, curtains fluttering in the breeze.  He walked over to it and looked out, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.  He shut it so as not to let all of the air-conditioning out of the building.

Making his way back into his apartment, he noticed something next to his door that wasn't there when he had first arrived back home.  It was a small, woven basket.

Author's Notes:  

At this point there is only the Epilogue to go.  I think I'm leaving it open for a sequel, but only time will tell whether or not I will be able to come up with a good enough storyline.  A lot of times, sequels do not live up to the original and it would be a shame to ruin about 9 months of hard work!  J  What do you think?


	26. Epilogue: Love and the Battlefield PG

Title:  Metal Gear Solid:  Elements of Destruction- Epilogue:  Love and the Battlefield (Edited for fanfiction.net)

Author:  The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)

Fandom:  Metal Gear Solid

Feedback:  All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive.  I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest:  frozenblueice@yahoo.com

Pairing:  The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose.  There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.

Series:  No.  There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.

Rating:  PG. (this chapter only)

Disclaimer:  All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima.  All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess.  This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it.  It is for entertainment purposes only.

Type:  Action/Shounen-ai

Summary:  This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell."  New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action.  (That's all I'm revealing!)

Epilogue:  Love and the Battlefield (Edited for fanfiction.net)

            Gunshots rang out in Otacon's ears and he suddenly sat up, waking with a gasp.  He breathed in and out heavily in a rhythmic pattern as if struggling for air.  His hair, now soaked in a cold sweat, fell to cover his glasses.

"Otacon, what's wrong?" asked Solid Snake, who had been lying awake next to him the entire time.

For a moment, the engineer did not respond.  His mind was wandering back to what it is he had dreamt about only moments before.

"I took someone's life for the first time," he said in a small voice that struggled to pass by the lump in his throat.  Hal looked down at his trembling hands.  "I never thought I had that kind of power within me.  It's frightening."

Snake nodded, placing his arm around the slender man's shoulders.

Hal sighed then shifted his eyes to meet an emerald gaze.  "But if I hadn't, I would have lost you."

"It took a lot of strength to do what you did," the mercenary replied simply.

"Dave?"

"Yeah, Hal?"

"It's scary to think about, but I'd do the same thing if I were ever put in that situation again."  A tear fell from his eye.  "I just pray that I never have to."

Snake shifted his gaze downward.  "I never wanted you to have this burden on your shoulders.  That's why I gave you the modded M9.  I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to take her out myself."

"It's not your fault," Otacon quickly countered.  "She was, after all, your genetic equal."

Snake growled his disapproval with himself.  "There's no excuse."

Otacon took a still gloved hand and raised his partner's chin to look into his eyes.  They matched each other's gazes, both filled with deep emotion-- pain, fear, anxiety, love…

Overflowing with every emotion imaginable, Hal and Dave joined at the lips. 

***

            A codec call interrupted the silent bliss of Snake and Otacon's post-lovemaking embrace.  They answered it together.

            "Snake?  Otacon?  You reading me?"  It was Raiden and he sounded urgent.

            "Yeah, kid.  We're here.  What's the matter?"

            "Mei Ling's here with me.  There's something I need to tell you."

            "Spit it out already!" Snake ordered, growing impatient.

            "It's about my son."

            "Your son?" Otacon repeated.

            "He's here with me now."

            "What?"

            "Yeah.  He was dropped off at my doorstep in a basket."

            "Who was it?  How did they find you?" Snake demanded.

            "I don't know," Raiden answered him, sighing.  "Mei thinks that whoever it was, they tracked my location by means of these implants."

            Snake growled.  "We need to find somebody we can trust to try to remove those, or at least find a way to deactivate their functions.  I'll have Otacon look at them in the morning."

            "I'll do my best," the engineer said.

            "There's more," Raiden pressed on.

            Snake rolled his eyes.  "There's always more," he said sardonically.

            "There was a photograph in the basket with Iroquois."

            Solid Snake narrowed his eyes.  "And…?"

            "It was a photograph of a 2-3 year old, blond-haired boy.  I think it may be Olga's child.  He was standing next to a man with a long, black ponytail and Genesis."

            "What the Hell?!"

            The silence hung heavy over the codec for what seemed to be an eternity…

Author's Notes:

If this epilogue seems incredibly short, it's due to the fact that fanfiction.net no longer allows NC-17 content on their site.  If you would like to experience the Epilogue as it was originally intended to have been read, please visit:  www.thefrostedrose.com/frozenwasteland/fics/MGS_EOD_Epilogue.doc

And that's all folks!  Fin!  The End!  Owari!  Please feel free to review me!


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